The Story of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - 641 Words

The story of Slaughterhouse Five is about a man named Billy Pilgrim who goes through a series of strange events throughout his life time. And it all starts when he is in a war in Germany. Billy is resentful towards the war and he makes it clear that he does not want to be there. During the war, he becomes captured by Germans. Before Billy is captured, he meets Roland Weary. When captured, the Germans took everything from Weary, including his shoes so they gave him clogs as a substitute. Eventually, he dies from gangrene caused by the clogs. Right before Weary dies, he manages to convince another soldier; Paul Lazzaro that it was Billy’s fault that he was dying so Lazzaro vows to avenge the death of Weary by killing Billy. At the time Billy is captured, he becomes â€Å"unstuck in time,† and he sees various moments of his life occur. Later, Billy experiences a nervous breakdown so the other prisoners give him a shot of morphine which sends him time-tripping once more. Afterwards, he and the other prisoners are sent to the city of Dresden which remains untouched y the war. Here, they work in an abandoned slaughterhouse which carries the name of â€Å"Slaughterhouse Five.† One of the nights of their stay, enemies of the Germans bomb the city to compose a firestorm which consequently incinerates roughly 130,000 people. Billy and his allies manage to survive in an airtight meat locker. When they depart the locker, they are introduced to the wreckage and destruction that is left of theShow MoreRelatedSlaughterhouse by Kurt Vonnegut819 Words   |  3 PagesKurt Vonnegut followed many principles in his writings. He claimed that â€Å"people do not realize that they are happy† (PBS NOW Tr anscript). Feeling that people had the wrong view on war, he felt that he needed to get the facts straight. Vonnegut believed that art can come from awful situations, and that the truth is not always easy to look at. Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse – Five to tell of his experience in the bombing of Dresden, as a prisoner in war and the atrocities that occurred. VonnegutRead MoreKurt Vonnegut : A Hybrid Of Science Fiction And Satire1716 Words   |  7 PagesLeanne Arata English 11 Mrs. Wheeler 5/8/2016 Kurt Vonnegut The idea of making a work that does not fit into a single category of work is how Kurt Vonnegut has become such a phenomenon. Kurt Vonnegut has a hybrid writing style which allows him to critique human nature and this is evident in his work. A hybrid writer is someone who makes something by combining two different genres to create something new. Vonnegut’s work is a hybrid of science fiction and satire. Satire is an author’s way of sayingRead MoreEssay about Slaughterhouse-Five: A Peace Novel1419 Words   |  6 Pagesinspired to write stories, poems, or songs about war. Many of these examples tend to reflect feelings against war. Kurt Vonnegut is no different and his experience with war inspired him to write a series of novels starting with Slaughter-House Five. It is a unique novel expressing Vonneguts feelings about war. These strong feeling can be seen in the similarities between characters, information about the Tralfamadorians, dark humor, and the structur e of the novel. Kurt Vonnegut is an AmericanRead More The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut946 Words   |  4 PagesThe Mind of Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut is one of the preeminent writers of the later half of the twentieth century. His works are all windows into his mind, a literary psychoanalysis. He examines himself as a cog in the corporate machine in Deer in the Works; as a writer through the eyes of Kilgore Trout in several works; and most importantly, as a prisoner of war in Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut created short stories and novels that dealt with events in his life.Read MoreSlaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Essay821 Words   |  4 PagesIn an interview on Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut states, â€Å"I worked as a miner of corpses, breaking into cellars where over a hundred thousand Hansel and Gretels were baked like gingerbread men† (â€Å"Vonnegut†). Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007), born during the Modern Age, wrote his first story in 1947, known as the Contemporary Period. The Modern Age was different from the Contemporary Period because of its focus on art while trying to connect with traditions in the world due to their desire to have aRead MoreSlaughterhouse Five By Kurt Vonnegut1242 Words   |  5 PagesSlaughterhouse Five, a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, depicts unchronological and sometimes nonsensical moments of the life of Billy Pilgrim as he â€Å"become[s] unstuck in time†(Vonnegut S. Five 23) Billy has no control over where he will end up next. â€Å"He has seen his birth and death many times, and he pays random visits to all the events in between†, and â€Å"is in a constant state of fright, ... because he never knows which part of his life he is going to have to act out next.†(Vonnegut S. Five 23)Read MoreMany Writers In History Have Written Science Fiction Novels1055 Words   |  5 Pageshave been as enduring over time as Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughterhouse-Five. Slaughterhouse-Five is a personal novel which draws upon Vonnegut s experience s as a scout in World War Two, his capture and becoming a prisoner of war, and his witnessing of the fire-bombing of Dresden in February of 1945 (the greatest man-caused massacre in history). The novel is about the life and times of a World War Two veteran named Billy Pilgrim. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut uses structure and point of viewRead MoreStyle Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut on Slaughterhouse Five1623 Words   |  7 Pagesbrilliant piece of literature. One example, for instance, is Kurt Vonnegut who may have been stimulated by the war, thus writing Slaughterhouse Ââ€" Five. Though one may categorize this piece as science fiction or even auto - biographical, it can also be interpreted as an anti Ââ€" war piece. Because Vonnegut is classified as a post modernist, one can take into account all the details, such as the similarities between the main character and Vonnegut, the Tralfamadorians, and the style and themes of the novelRead More The Theme of Time in Slaughterhouse-Five Essay1065 Words   |  5 PagesThe Theme of Time in Slaughterhouse-Five Many writers in history have written science fiction novels and had great success with them, but only a few have been as enduring over time as Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five. Slaughterhouse-Five is a personal novel which draws upon Vonneguts experiences as a scout in World War Two, his capture and becoming a prisoner of war, and his witnessing of the fire bombing of Dresden in February of 1945 (the greatest man-caused massacre in history). TheRead MoreEssay on Anti-War Sentiments in Cats Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five1173 Words   |  5 Pagessurface, Kurt Vonneguts Cats Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five are vastly dissimilar works of literature, each with its own creative style and plot. However, when the texts are examined with a discerning eye one can notice multiple thematic undercurrents such as war fate,time and suffering hidden in plain sight. Overwhelmingly common in Cats Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five are strong anti-war sentiments which show all the ways war is deleteriou s towards the human condition.(Marvin) Vonnegut shows how

Quality Insurance Free Essays

Quality Improvement Plan: Part III – Managing and Improving Quality In today’s health care environment, competition remains high and many organizations are seeking new ways to improve their quality of care, as well as remain competitive with other health care organizations in the process. Various methods exist today for organizations to integrate quality improvement strategies to help in the measurement of performance improvements. This paper will discuss:1) several methodologies, the pros and cons that exist with these methods, 2) describe information technology applications, how they may be used to improve patient falls, 3)discuss how benchmarking and milestones are involved in managing the use of quality indicators, and finally,4) describe how performance and quality measures are aligned to an organization’s mission, vision, and strategic plan, and how these measurements align with Self-Regional Hospital’s mission, vision, and strategic plan for improvement. We will write a custom essay sample on Quality Insurance or any similar topic only for you Order Now Methods for Quality Improvement Strategies Accidental Falls have become the most commonly reported incident in hospitals today, and Self-Regional Hospital is no exception. Recently, Self-Regional researched and gathered specific fall data that included â€Å"mobility/gait, lower-extremity strength, history in fractures, visual, or auditory impairments, dizziness, dehydration, depression, stroke, ischemic attacks, and cardiac arrhythmias† and the role they play with patient falls in the organization (The Joint Commission, 2007, p. 26). They are now in the process of researching various methodologies to help manage and improve this area of concern. Several concepts that concern total quality management (TQM), and quality improvement (QI) are offering health care organizations and their administrators the opportunity to decide which methodology would be most successful in improving quality care for their patients. There are three methodologies Self-Regional is considering: 1) Six Sigma, 2) Lean, and 3) Customer Inspired Quality (CIQ). â€Å"One of the key components of quality improvement is the technology that gathers and compares the data that the quality improvement measure produces† (Dlugacz, 2006). Once this information has been gathered, the organization can benchmark with other comparable organizations. The Six Sigma model, pioneered by Motorola, is used to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying, and removing defects through a problem-solving approach that works to improve quality outputs. The Six Sigma methodology achieves this by using a process known as the DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control), for existing quality processes that are below specifications, and are in need of improvement in increments. There are features with Six Sigma that separates it from other initiatives of quality improvement: * Clear focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial returns * Increased emphasis on strong leadership and support * Special Infrastructure of â€Å"Champions,† to lead and implement the Six Sigma approach * Clear commitment to making decisions based on verifiable data, rather than assuming or guess work (Harry, 2000). The second model is Lean, which played a key role for Toyota’s success. This method is used to help reduce or alleviate waste, while working to improve an organization’s performance through their workflow processes. Organization’s that use Lean have a clear understanding of consumer value, and continuously will focus on the key processes to improve it. Their goal is to provide excellent value to the consumer, by developing an excellent value process that has zero waste. Lean offers the organization the opportunity to identify steps in a quality improvement process, and then identify the steps that are valuable and non-valuable. Once the non-valued steps have been identified they will be removed to prevent waste in the process (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2009). The Customer Inspired Quality method is the last method for quality improvement that Self-Regional is considering. In 1992, Shaw Resources patented this methodology to focus on work processes that have direct impact on the care and services that hospitals provide. The Customer Inspired Quality methodology identifies, defines, analyzes, and improves the quality and effectiveness of processes in the health care environment with an emphasis on the following work process evaluating components: Integrates department services that are related to defined systems concerning care * Improves productivity and efficiency, while reducing unneeded work processes and costs * Can be implemented as short-term or long-term quality improvement processes * Patient loyalty and satisfaction is enhanced (Shaw Resources, n. d. ). Pros and Cons of Quality Improvement Methodol ogies There are always pros and cons to any quality improvement methodology. For instance, the pros of Six Sigma tend to place extreme importance on leadership and its support for the success of the project. Another pro is the integration of different human elements, which include cultural change, and focus on the customer and their needs. â€Å"By using the concept of statistical thinking, Six Sigma encourages applications of statistical tools and techniques that reduce variability† (Harry, 2000). The cons of Six Sigma include, not having the quality data available, especially when a new process has been implemented without having the data available. Often the solutions that Six Sigma proposes can be costly and only a small portion of the solution can be implemented. When using Six Sigma the choosing of the right project is critical to its success. The pros for Lean include: * Minimizing overhead cost to thirty percent * Eliminates most waste, if not all * Can improve productivity by eighty percent * Eliminates negative behaviors and employees have a clear objective of the organization’s expectations The Lean methodology’s cons include: * Can be difficult to attain support from all employees, due to resistance of change * Personality clashes can occur if some individuals do not take orders well from their co-workers Lean training is ongoing and in the beginning is time-consuming (Businessknowledgesource. com, 2010). The pros of the Customer Inspired Quality methodology include: * Quality improvement efforts are prioritized based on the customer’s needs * Friendly and encourages input from employees The main con with the Customer Inspired Quality method is that is structured primarily for health care organizations. Information Technologies for Quality Improvements Information technology plays a major role when it comes to quality improvement methods used by health care organizations. Self-Regional Hospital has implemented software known as Business Objects. The components of Business Objects â€Å"provide performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and enterprise information management† (Sap. com, 2008). The Business Objects Enterprise offers the organization the ability to track report instances by triggering alerts. The reports have parameters that can be modified to perform analysis on the data and the organization also has the ability set alerts that trigger when certain conditions are met or not met. The data can be customized to show in charts and can be customized to allow the organization the opportunity to drill down into the data. Information technology allows data to also be displayed in a dashboard or a scorecard. A dashboard is a tool that monitors the ongoing performance of a process and its data in real time. Whereas, scorecards report on past performances and generally focuses on outcomes rather than processes. All of these applications can be used by administrators to track quality improvement processes of the organization. Administrators also have the ability to design the scorecards or dashboards to display only information that is pertinent to the process. These processes would also give Self-Regional the ability to examine data that pertains to patient falls within their organization. Benchmarks and Milestones Benchmarking is a process that gives an organization the ability to compare their performance metrics and processes to other organization’s best practices. In other words, benchmarking is the process of an organization comparing itself to their competitors and defines how the competition performs better. In health care, when an organization has a clear understanding of how their competitor/s meets their standards, they can set goals for quality improvements within their own organization. Benchmarking is beneficial for improving customer satisfaction, as well as improve core measurements set by the Joint Commission. Self-Regional Hospital can use benchmarking as a means to compare how hospitals rate on patient falls and what processes they have set in place to improve in this area. The hospital would benefit by using the website â€Å"hospitalcompare. hs. gov to research on patient satisfaction, quality improvement outcomes, and where they rate in these areas as well. Potential benchmarks Self-regional will strive for improved core measures at 90% for patient falls. Another area the organization will strive for is to improve patient safety. In order for the hospital to do this they will need to continue to implement the processes that support the Joint Commission’s National Pa tient Safety Goals, and implement quality improvement processes that will involve the organization as a whole. Self-Regional will also implement computerized provider order entry (CPOE), and will also begin the process of extending the goals to the emergency department and critical care areas. The third bench mark will be to enhance the patient’s experience by using the DMAIC model to understand and support the emotional, spiritual, and clinical needs of the patients. Self-Regional Hospital will use the Customer Inspired Quality Methodology for implementing their performance improvement processes with patient falls. Data will be comprised from Crystal reports to display balanced scorecards and dashboards. The organization will divide the dashboards into the Extending Elements, team, clinical, service, market, and finance. This information will be used in conjunction with information from benchmarking data to monitor the quality improvement plan. Health care organization’s use performance and quality measures to align their products and service activities with their mission, vision, and strategic planning to help improve their internal and external communications, as well as monitor the organization performance against their strategic goals. Self-Regional Hospital’s mission, vision, and strategic planning is aligned with their performance and quality measures to provide continuous advanced quality care that will improve their patient outcomes, while focusing on patient satisfaction in the process. APA References Dlugacz, Y. D. (2006). Measuring Health Care Using Data for Operational, Financial, and Clinical Improvement, San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass Publications Harry, Mikel J. (2000). The Nature of Six Sigma Quality. Rolling Meadows, Illinois: Motorola University Press. p. 25 Lean Enterprise Institute, (2009). What is Lean? Retrieved on September 26, 2011 from http://www. lean. org/WhatsLean/ Shaw Resources, (n. d. ). Customer Inspired Quality: Health Care Operational Improvements, Retrieved on September 26, 2011 from http://shawresources. com/ customer-inspired-quality-and-processes-improvement. htm Sap. com (2008). Retrieved on September 26, 2011, from http://www. sap. com/ solutions/sapbusinessobjects/index. epx How to cite Quality Insurance, Essay examples

Economic History of Sierra Leone free essay sample

People of African descent were fewer in numbers in England in the days before the American Revolution and generally better treated. Most of the Black people of England at that time had been brought there as personal servant-slaves from the North American colonies or the British Caribbean possessions. A court ruled in 1772 that slavery in England was illegal and immediately there was a substantial number of free Black men in the cities of England. The story of the declaration of the illegality of slavery in Britain is an interesting one. In England at that time there was a religious sect called the Evangelicals but popularly known as the Saints. The Evangelicals were morally strict, being against alcoholic beverages, swearing, overeating and lewdness. They required also strict adherence to the sanctity of the Sabbath. They also opposed slavery and several prominent Evangelicals devoted their lives to the abolition of slavery. One of these, William Wilberforce, was instrumental in getting England to suppress the Atlantic slave trade. Another Evangelical or Saint was Granville Sharp. Granville Sharp was a key figure in the court decision which made slavery illegal in England. He was thrust in that role by chance. Granville Sharp One of Granville Sharps brothers was a surgeon. One day Granville Sharp was visiting his surgeon brother and literally bumped into a slave, Jonathan Strong, who had been beaten by his owner so severely that it affected his eyesight. That owner had deemed Jonathan Strong worthless, beat him in the face and threw him into the street. Sharp and his brother put Strong into a hospital and when he recovered his health they gave him clothing and got him a job as a servant. Two years later the legal owner of Strong, a lawyer from Barbados, saw Strong working as a servant and sought to reclaim him as his property. The owner had Strong arrested, who fearing for his life, got a message sent to Granville Sharp. Sharp sought legal help but no lawyer was willing to take the case. Sharp had no legal training but in desperation he studied the law enough to argue the case himself. Sharp prepared a brief that argued that any slave who entered England automatically became free. His case was so well prepared that Jonathan Strongs former owner dropped is suit to recover possession of Strong. Sharp, however, was not content with obtaining just Strongs freedom. Sharp spent five years pursuing the issue until in 1772 he won the case of James Somerset before the High Court of England and obtained the judgement that slavery was illegal in England. Granville Sharp was not a rich man. All the while he was pleading the case against slavery he had to support himself as a cle rk in the Ordnance Office of the British Government. Later his two brothers, who were more affluent than he was, offered to support him so that he could carry on his good work. After 1772 the problem of poverty among the freed Blacks replaced the abolition of slavery in the minds of Granville Sharp and the other Saints. The Saints started thinking of a settlement in Africa and by 1786 West Africa and in particular the territory of Sierra Leone had become the focus of their attention. Henry Smeathman presented a proposal before the Committee for the Black Poor for the establishment of such a colony in Sierra Leone. Smeathman died however in July of 1786 and the Committee consider a number of other locales for a settlement. The other places considered were the Brahamas Islands, the Gambia in Africa and New Brunswick in what is now Canada. The Black people who were interested in the scheme thought Sierra Leone was far superior to the other alternatives, although they did not know much about Sierra Leone. The Treasury of the British Government favored the plan and arranged for the Navy to provide transportation. There were as many as 500 Black people interested in the scheme, but only 300 who actually joined the expedition. The Navy Board decided to round up any Black vagrants from London and include them by force in the settlement scheme. The expeditions ships left London in December of 1786 intending to reach Sierra Leone before the rainy season which starts in May. But the ships were held up until April in Portmouth, England due to bad weather. During this delay fifty passengers died of fever and several others were put off the ships. The final count for the settlement voyage was 411, of which about 300 were Black men, 40 Black women, a few white officials and 70 White women who were probably wives and girl friends of the Black men but who were alleged to have been London prostitutes. On May 15th of 1787 the settlers put ashore at what is now Freetown. Their number had been reduced by about another score of deaths on the voyage. The leaders attempted to buy land from the local tribal chief, but although the chief took the payment and put his mark on the agreement it was clear he did not understand it and consequently would not abide by it. The town the settlers established was initially named not Freetown but Granville Town and the name they gave to the region was The Province of Freedom. The first months of the settlement were traumatic. The torrential rains began soon after the settlers arrival. They could not grow food and soon they were starving. Some of the settlers left the town and worked for the slavers in the region. Some of these eventually became prosperous slavers on their own, including one whom Sharp had once personally rescued from kidnappers in England who would have sold him into slavery. By early in 1788 there were only 130 people left in the settlement. Sharp was not discouraged and raised funds to send 39 more settlers, most of whom were White. These reenforcements only followed their predecessors into the slave trade. To make matters worse there was a new tribal chief who wanted gifts in order to permit the settlers to remain. When the settlers did not comply the new chief ordered Granville town burned. Sharp took a different approach in the face of all these calamatities. He and his Saint collaborators formed a company, later named the Sierra Leone Company. This company provided the finances for building a new settlers town two miles to the east of the original. The Company also provided weapons for its future defense. An arrangement was made for the settlement land with a higher-level chief than the one who had burned the original town. While the settlers in Sierra Leone were struggling to create a community political events were occurring elsewhere which would affect the future of Sierra Leone. At the end of the American Revolution there were 3,000 Blacks who went with the 25,000 loyalist Whites to Nova Scotia. These Black people had to work for the Nova Scotian farmers and found the climate of Nova Scotia inhospitable. They petitioned the British Government for land or to arrange for them to be located elsewhere. An Evangelical served as the advocate for the Nova Scotian Blacks and over one thousand chose to move to the settlement in Sierra Leone. They arrived in February 1791 and built a settlement on the original Granville Town site and named the new settlement Freetown. Many of the Nova Scotian migrants were carpenters. The Sierra Leone Company set up a plantation to raise cotton, sugar and rice using paid, native labor. Some of the settlers established their own farms. The settlement was definitely developing. This progress was set back in September of 1794 when seven ships under the control of revolutionary French sailors beseiged the settlement and wreaked havoc on the town. The sailors did not just loot the town but vandalized it as well. But the settlement did recover. In 1800 there was a new wave of immigrants. These came indirectly from Jamaica. Their history was complex. In 1655, when the English were about to take control from the Spanish in Jamaica, the Spanish plantation owners released their slaves rather than allow them to fall into the hands of the English. These freed slaves, later joined by runaway slaves, were called Maroons, from the Spanish word for wild,cimaron. They survived in the back country and maintained their independence. The British reached an accomodation with the Maroons in 1739; they could maintain their independence if they helped capture any newly-escaped plantation slaves. The British paid the Maroons a bounty of ? 3 a head for these escaped slaves. This bounty provided the Maroons with money for buying those things they wanted, such as tea and sugar, but could not produce themselves. The Maroons prospered until the bounty for returned slaves was reduced to ? 2. Resentful at this loss of income and angered by other British treatment the Maroons rebelled. When the rebellion was put down the Jamaican authorities exiled the Maroons to Nova Scotia, a singularly unsuitable place for Jamaicans. In Nova Scotia the Maroons petitioned the British Government to transport them to Sierra Leone. Five hundred and fifty Maroons arrived in Sierra Leone at the time of a local rebellion over taxes. The Maroons had a military tradition and were soon enlisted in the suppression of the rebellion. The Maroons overwhelmed one rebel outpost with a bayonet charge which prompted one rebel survivor to say to the Maroons, You dont fight fair. You dont kill em and be done with it; you pokeem, pokeem, pokeem! Nevertheless the Maroons became an integral part of the community and provided defense against the native tribes of the area. The largest source of settlers to Sierra Leone came from captured slave ships. When the British Navy began suppressing the Atlantic slave trade in 1808 there was a problem of what to do with the liberated slaves. It was not feasible to return them to their homelands. On the other hand there was no place for them in the European countries. Sierra Leone was the solution. These liberated Africans were called recaptured slaves. The captains of the ships that captured slave ships received as a reward the value of the slaves on board. This reward was paid by the British Government and the process required the legal adjudication of the guilt of the ships owners and the assessment of the value of the slaves on board. The Government chose to have this process carried out at Freetown and the liberated slaves settled in Sierra Leone. The flood of recaptured slaves raised the population of Sierra Leone from about two thousand before 1808 to fifty thousand by 1850. Early Freetown The British suppression of the slave trade did not always make things better for the Africans. Since the legal process required slaves as evidence of guilt, the crews on the slave ships in danger of capture had an incentive to throw the slaves overboard to destroy the evidence. Without slaves on the ship there would be no reward for the capturing ship. The bounty hunting ships would be faced with capturing and escorting a bountyless ship to Freetown or seeking another capture elsewhere on the high seas. Thus a slave ship devoid of any bounty might be allowed to escape. Even the capture of the slaves by the British Navy was traumatic for them. The Portuguese told the slaves that the British were capturing slaves only to sell them to cannibals. Also the journey of the slaves in the British ships may have been just as uncomfortable as on the slave ships. Freetown survived and the coastal area was made a British colony in 1808. In 1896 the British took control of the interior grass lands of what is now the Republic of Sierra Leone.

Research Paper on Inventory Management Essay Example

Research Paper on Inventory Management Essay Inventory Management Research Report: Inventory management is the study and branch of management which touches upon the storage, distribution, protection and transportation of the inventory of a company. Every organization has its own inventory, which helps to do the work well and enables the company to function properly. The inventory includes everything, which belongs to the organization and plays the active role in its work. Even such simple items as tables, chairs, paper and pens belong to this list, because it is important to know the number of these items and their condition in order to avoid any misunderstandings and shortages of these essential things. Such important objects as tools, computers, telephones and machines are far more important for the functioning of the organization, because they are the very factors, which guarantee the quality of work and production. Inventory management is extremely important for the work of an organization, because a smart businessman should know what he has in the company, wh ere it is used and how many items are already out of use and require repairing or substitution. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Inventory Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Inventory Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paper on Inventory Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The problem of inventory management is quite serious, because inventory costs money and the manager who is responsible for the inventory management should follow that the items are in the appropriate condition and function for the sake of the company further. It is obvious that the problem of inventory management touches upon more serious aspects like the modernization and improvement of the stuff. This means that one should purchase the new machines and tools and substitute the old ones with them and the manager should do this job with the least expenditures and loss for the company. Inventory management is the serious problem which guarantees the successful work of an organization, so if one wants to learn about the topic more, he should devote much time to the investigation of the problem and complete a good research report on it. A successful inventory management research report is supposed to contain original and up-to-date information and profound analysis of the topic. A student should analyze the topic well and focus on the core aspects and components of inventory management in order to describe the problem from all sides and evaluate the process professionally. It is important to prepare a detailed methodology section in order to demonstrate the critical thinking ability and analytical skills.

Word Choice Every Day vs. Everyday - Proofeds Writing Tips

Word Choice Every Day vs. Everyday - Proofeds Writing Tips Word Choice: Every Day vs. Everyday What difference can one little space make? With the terms â€Å"every day† and â€Å"everyday,† the answer is quite a big one! But what exactly is the distinction here? And how do you use these terms? Check out our guide to â€Å"every day† and â€Å"everyday† to make sure you work is always error free. Every Day (On a Daily Basis) Written as two words with a space between, â€Å"every day† is an adverbial phrase meaning â€Å"on a daily basis.† This means we use it to describe an action that happens daily. For instance: We go bowling every day. Here, â€Å"every day† modifies the verb phrase â€Å"go bowling† to show us how often it happens. The most important thing here, though, is that the two-word phrase â€Å"every day† applies to actions. Strike!(Photo: skeeze) Everyday (Routine or Mundane) Written as a single word, â€Å"everyday† is an adjective meaning â€Å"routine,† â€Å"normal,† or â€Å"mundane.† We can therefore use it to describe something that is for daily use or part of a regular routine: I’ll wear my everyday clothes now and get changed later for the party. This sense of â€Å"everyday† is used to contrast with something designed for special occasions. It doesn’t, however, necessarily mean that the speaker wears the exact same clothes every single day. And although this term is commonly used for clothing, it can be applied to anything that is part of a regular routine or day-to-day practice (e.g., a store might offer â€Å"everyday prices†). Most crucial here, though, is that â€Å"everyday† should only be used to modify a noun (i.e., a thing), not a verb. Every Day or Everyday? The difference here is subtle, so it pays to be careful when using either â€Å"every day† or â€Å"everyday.† The key is that â€Å"every day† is an adverbial phrase, so it only applies to actions. The single-word term â€Å"everyday,† meanwhile, is an adjective and therefore used to modify nouns. Remember: Every day (adverbial phrase) = On a daily basis Everyday (adjective) = Routine or mundane

All About Avoir, a French Super Verb

All About Avoir, a French Super Verb Avoir is an irregular French verb that means to have. The multitalented verb avoir is omnipresent in the French written and spoken language and appears in a multitude of idiomatic expressions, thanks to its utility and versatility. It  is one of the  most used  French verbs. In fact, of  the thousands of French verbs, it is among the top 10, which also include:  Ãƒ ªtre, faire, dire, aller, voir, savoir, pouvoir, falloir and pouvoir. The Three Functions of Avoir The many forms of  avoir  are busy binding together the French language in three essential ways: 1) as a frequently used transitive verb with a direct object, 2) as the most common auxiliary verb for the languages compound tenses  and 3) as an impersonal verb in the ubiquitous French expression il y a (there is, there are).   Transitive Verb When used alone, avoir is a transitive verb that  takes a direct object.  Avoir  means to have in most senses, including having something in ones possession and currently experiencing something.  Avoir   can mean to have to, but that expression is more commonly translated by  devoir. Jai deux stylos.   I have two pens.Jai trois frà ¨res.   I have three brothers.Jai mal la tà ªte.   I have a headache.Jai une idà ©e.   I have an idea.Jai à ©tà © eu.   Ive been had (tricked).Ils ont  de largent.  Ã‚  They  have money.On a essayà © de tavoir toute la journà ©e.  Ã‚  We tried to get through to you  all day.Elle a de la famille/des amis dà ®ner.  Ã‚  Ã‚  She has  relatives/friends over for dinner.Elle a beaucoup de sa mà ¨re.  Ã‚  Ã‚  She really takes after her mother. Auxiliary Verb Avoir is by far the most frequently used auxiliary, or helping, verb in French compound tenses, which include a conjugated form of avoir with the past participle of the primary verb. As an auxiliary verb, it is used to build compound tenses, such as  passà © composà ©.  Verbs that dont use avoir, use  Ãƒ ªtre  as their auxiliary verb. For example: Jai dà ©j à ©tudià ©.   I have already studied.Jaurai mangà © avant ton arrivà ©e.   I will have eaten before you arrive.Si javais su, je taurais tà ©là ©phonà ©.   If I had known, I would have called you.Jaurais voulu vous aider.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Id have liked to help you.Il les a jetà ©s dehors. He threw them out.Jai maigri. Ive lost weight.As-tu bien dormi  ? Did you sleep well ?Jai à ©tà © surpris. I was  surprised.Il aurait à ©tà © enchantà ©. He would have been delighted. Impersonal Verb in Il y a One cannot underestimate how essential this function is to the French language, as the equivalent is to English. As an impersonal verb (verbe impersonnel), avoir is the verb in the utilitarian expression il y a. It translates to there is when followed by a singular, and there are when followed by a plural. A few examples: Il y a du soleil.   Its sunny. / The sun is shining.Il y a juste de quoi faire une salade. Theres just enough to make a salad.Il ny a qu lui dire. We just have to tell him.Il y a 40 ans de à §a.  Ã‚   40 years ago.Il y a une heure que jattends.   Ive been waiting for an hour.Il doit y avoir une raison. There must be some reason. A Word About Pronunciation: FORMAL VS. MODERN   Careful with the pronunciation of avoir. Consult an audiobook to hear correct pronunciations. 1. In more formal French, there are many sound liaisons involved with the pronunciation of  avoir: Nous avons   Nous Z-avonsVous avez Vous Z-avezIls/Elles ont Ils Z-ont (silent t) Students often confuse the pronunciation of  ils ont  (aller, Z sound) and  ils sont  (à ªtre, S sound), which is a major mistake. 2. In informal modern French, there are a lot of glidings (elisions). For example,  tu  as  is pronounced  ta. 3. Glidings are in everyday pronunciations of the common expression  il y a: il y a yail ny a pas (de) yapadil y en a yan na IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS WITH AVOIR Avoir is used in a number of idiomatic expressions, many of which are translated by the English verb to be.   Jai 30 ans. I am 30 years oldJai soif / faim. I am thirsty / hungry.Jai froid/chaud. Im cold/ hot.avoir ___ ans  Ã‚  to be ___ years oldavoir besoin de   to needavoir envie de   to wantMerci. Il ny a pas de quoi  ! [OR Pas de quoi.]   Thank you. Dont mention it. /  Youre welcome .Quest-ce quil y a  ? Whats the matter ?(rà ©ponse,  familier) Il y a que jen ai marre  !  Ã‚  Im fed up, thats what!  Il y en a  OR  Il  y a des gens, je vous jure  !  (familier)  Ã‚  Some people, honestly / really ! Conjugations of Avoir Below is the useful present-tense conjugation of avoir. For  all the tenses, both simple and compound, see avoir conjugations. Present tense jaitu asil anous avonsvous avezï » ¿ils ont

The industrial development in Japan after World War II Essay

The industrial development in Japan after World War II - Essay Example Japan is said to be the principal trading and technologically manufacturing country of the world. Prior to the world war II Japan was the center of an empire that at times included Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, much of eastern China, southern Sakhalin Island, and the Marshall and Mariana islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean.After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the new government launched a determined drive to establish a modern industrial economy anchored in Western science and technology. Modern systems of education and banking were created. The government financed and operated new manufacturing, mining, and transportation ventures, and as they became commercially viable it sold them to private interests. Continued government support led to the development after the 1890s of large-scale, family-based enterprises (zaibatsu) in banking, transportation, and heavy industries related to armament production. Vigorous private initiative prompted consumer industries such as textiles.During th e 1920s and 1930s, Japan's industries grew steadily in variety and technical maturity. Manufactured goods such as cement, steel, bicycles, simple industrial machinery, chemical fertilizers, and processed foods gained in importance. Electric power generation also increased sharply during this period. Notwithstanding these developments, the Japanese economy on the eve of World War II was still backward in many respects. Sophisticated machinery, chemicals, and refined metals had to be imported.... Two million of its people had died in the war, a third of them civilians. Air raids had devastated its cities, and at least 13 million Japanese were homeless. Industry was at a standstill, and even farm output had declined. Many Japanese wore rags and were half-starved. All were mentally and physically exhausted. For the first time in its history, Japan was a conquered nation occupied by a foreign power. Nowadays, we can see a novel Japan excruciating with energy and ambitions. Its economy is counted among the top most economies of the world. The population has become affluent and the country's main islands are connected together with a network of tunnels and bridges bullet trains keep on running at a speed of around 195 kilometers per hour. Prosperity created new challenges, however. The price for Japan's success included explosive urban growth and overcrowding, water and air pollution, and damage to many of the nation's scenic treasures. Hills were hacked down for factory sites or home-sites, while mountains were defaced by highways to accommodate city tourists. For a time, Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain peak almost disappeared from sight because of smog created by factories and cars. Today, that smog is gone, thanks to some of the world's most rigorous standards for auto emissions and industrial air pollution. In other areas, Japan still struggles to balance development with environmental protection. It was once predicted that Japan would become the world's largest economy by 2000, but the picture has changed dramatically. Japan's real-estate and stock markets collapsed in 1989-92, beginning the longest recession since World War II. The economy remains weak despite tax cuts and massive government spending. Yet export-oriented Japan still runs a

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Human Resource Management - Essay Example Sufficient research studies have been undertaken linking Human Resource Management to the overall growth of a firm or organization which is essentially its financial performance. It has been observed that there is a strong positive relationship between the two. In order to be successful, organizations need to invest in and build organizational capability which can be provided by focused HRM practices by HR professionals who create value by increasing organizational competitiveness. This value is created across board, in every division, every team and every individual. The responsibilities of an HR Department are focused on the Human Capital which has begun to enjoy prestige as the most dynamic factor of production. The tasks are multifaceted and includes some of these, listed in order of priority hereunder: People Extends from the day a need is established for taking on people, screening and recruitment, salary negotiation, placement and job profiling, orientation, training and development, periodic reviews and appraisals, handholding, welfare initiatives, exit, replacement. Regulations Knowledge and intervention regarding all laws, regulations, facilities whether state run or internal, that directly or indirectly impact the employees. Various job profiles and content definitions of the Human Resource function have been created and recreated time and again. To have a better view, let us first analyse the challenges that face any organization today.

Elections and Media Essay Example for Free

Elections and Media Essay The most influential part of American society is the media. Because of it, people have been witness to numerous historical events such as inaugurations, assassinations, and acts of terrorism. We would not have been informed if it had not been for the excessive coverage from the television; however, at the same time, the television has been a continuous barrier within the political world because it emphasizes materialistic items and meaningless ideas rather than the important tasks at hand that can affect an entire nation. The media has an arguable hold on the politics of this nation. As told in Source C, by Menand, many attribute Kennedys victory in the close election of 1960 to the presentation he made in two televised debates in the final months of his campaign; however, the people who listened to the debates on the radio, and did not see televised images, believed it was a draw between Nixon and Kennedy. The majority who watched the debates on the television thought that Kennedy had a crisper image than the badly postured Nixon. This evidence supports the fact that the television makes the voters focus on the image of the candidate rather than ideals and their intellectual responses to the questions at hand. In the 1960 election, the television had won the nation away from sound to images. It is not fair to other candidates because the other candidates could be better off running the country than a person who was won over by materialistic views. Television may make a candidate appear one way, but when they are in office they become two-faced, thus promoting the fact that more and more candidates are pursuing images more than issues. An example of this can bee seen in Source B, by Hart and Triece, where it states that Bill Clinton showed his boxers on MTV because he believed that was what the audience was looking for in order to support him as president. The media, mainly television, has the ability to control the way a nation can think as well as the way a nation can vote. Television is like any other form of entertainment. It has the job of telling the citizens what they want to hear, rather than being honest and telling the truth. That is why there is not one single news broadcasting station that will voice both liberal and conservative views. As told by Ted Koppel in Source F, networks influence the nation by cropping and pulling out the best parts of events in the presidential election that make their political party stand out from the rest. This is a reason why so many elections are full of slandering because each broadcast network tries to dig up information from the past or present to use against a candidate. For instance, during George Bushs election in 2000, the press dug up information about his daughters at college and their partying ways. This was a way to try and sabotage his chances of presidency, and it almost worked. The nation started to view him as an unworthy candidate, but that information had no relevance on his ability to be president. Fortunately it did not affect Bush winning the election, although it is still being seen today. The media continuously shoots down the major issues at hand and puts the focus on non-important ideas. Television has a way of being intimate with people and making them feel like they are getting valuable information, but what they do not know is that they are not getting the facts and information from direct sources, furthering the question of who can the American people trust to get accurate information. The inaccurate information can be the deciding factor between who a new voter will vote for, which in return can affect the outcome of an election or presidential term. A prime example of this can be seen in Source E, by Ranney. In this article, it states that President Lyndon Johnson was supporting the fact that the war in Vietnam could and would be won. At that time the nation believed him; however, when the news network took it upon them to see if Johnson was true to his word, they came back with the reciprocal of what Johnson stated. CBS news network reported that Vietnam was a bloody scene and there was no military victory in the future. Can you guess who the public believed? Of course the media! Basically in a single second, all of the citizens contradicted their previous beliefs, based by Johnson, and supported the facts brought in by CBS. This further upholds the idea that television and other forms of entertainment have stolen the idea of self thought and independent opinions. It somewhat contradicts freedom of speech and belief because what we are hearing is what the media itself picked out, rather than our own intelligence. Unfortunately due to this hold the television has over us, Johnson was overwhelmingly fought against, and he decided to end the army and navy bombardment in Vietnam, as well as not run for another term. The media had beaten him, and there was no way to stop it. In conclusion, all sources of entertainment, such as television, have altered the ways Americans think and view politics. The television has a power over the people by showing the bad sides of each candidate in an election rather than what good they have done for our society. By focusing on the negativity and worthless aspects of politics, television can be considered a prominent problem against politics in the United States. Once the nation wants to decide to support self-opinions, there will never be a presidential election or event that will not be decided by television.

The History of Rollerblades :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Roller skating is said to have been born during the summer months when ice was not available. The first documented inventor of roller skates was John Joseph Merlin who was born September 17, 1735, in the city of Huys, Belgium. Merlin was well known for his abilities for making musical instruments and other interesting mechanical gadgets. Through various incarnations, roller skates strove to replicate the streamlined speed and maneuverability of ice skates, but without ball bearings or shock-absorbent wheels it would take 200 years before that dream was achieved. Even as late as 1960, the Chicago Skate Company attempted to market an inline skate that looked much like today's skate, but it did not offer sufficient comfort, stability or a reliable brake (Zaidman 1). Although the Chicago Skate Company’s attempt of the inline skate was not successful, it did play a pivotal role in the molding of what is now known as inline skating. In 1980, two hockey-playing Minnesota Olson brothers discovered the in-line skate that the Chicago Skate Company had manufactured while rummaging through a sporting goods store and decided that this design would make an ideal off-season hockey-training tool. They refined the skate and began assembling the first Rollerblade skates in the basement of their parents' Minneapolis home. Working in their garage, they modified the design to add plastic wheels, a molded boot shell, and a tow brake. The Olsen brothers sold their product, which they dubbed â€Å"Rollerblade Skate,† out of the back of their truck to off-season hockey player and skiers (Kerin 5). It was that same year, when they founded the company that would become Rollerblade ® (Rollerblade.com). In 1984, Minneapolis businessman Bob Naegele, Jr. purchased Olson's fledgling company, which eventually became Rollerblade, Inc. Though not the first company to manufacture inline skates, Rollerblade, by offering a comfortable skate with a reliable and easy-to-implement brake, took inline skating out of the exclusive domain of hockey players and introduced millions to the sport that now has the whole world on a roll (Zaidman 1). The History of Rollerblades :: essays research papers fc   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Roller skating is said to have been born during the summer months when ice was not available. The first documented inventor of roller skates was John Joseph Merlin who was born September 17, 1735, in the city of Huys, Belgium. Merlin was well known for his abilities for making musical instruments and other interesting mechanical gadgets. Through various incarnations, roller skates strove to replicate the streamlined speed and maneuverability of ice skates, but without ball bearings or shock-absorbent wheels it would take 200 years before that dream was achieved. Even as late as 1960, the Chicago Skate Company attempted to market an inline skate that looked much like today's skate, but it did not offer sufficient comfort, stability or a reliable brake (Zaidman 1). Although the Chicago Skate Company’s attempt of the inline skate was not successful, it did play a pivotal role in the molding of what is now known as inline skating. In 1980, two hockey-playing Minnesota Olson brothers discovered the in-line skate that the Chicago Skate Company had manufactured while rummaging through a sporting goods store and decided that this design would make an ideal off-season hockey-training tool. They refined the skate and began assembling the first Rollerblade skates in the basement of their parents' Minneapolis home. Working in their garage, they modified the design to add plastic wheels, a molded boot shell, and a tow brake. The Olsen brothers sold their product, which they dubbed â€Å"Rollerblade Skate,† out of the back of their truck to off-season hockey player and skiers (Kerin 5). It was that same year, when they founded the company that would become Rollerblade ® (Rollerblade.com). In 1984, Minneapolis businessman Bob Naegele, Jr. purchased Olson's fledgling company, which eventually became Rollerblade, Inc. Though not the first company to manufacture inline skates, Rollerblade, by offering a comfortable skate with a reliable and easy-to-implement brake, took inline skating out of the exclusive domain of hockey players and introduced millions to the sport that now has the whole world on a roll (Zaidman 1).

A Case Study of Wegmans Food Markets Essay

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., is one of the premier grocery chains in the United States. Headquartered in Rochester, NY, Wegmans operates over 70 stores. The company employs over 23,000 people, and has annual sales of over Rs. 2.0 billion. Wegmans has a strong reputation for offering its customers high product quality and excellent service. Through a combination of market research, trial and error, and listening to its customers, Wegmans has evolved into a very successful organization. In fact, Wegmans is so good at what it does that grocery chains all over the country send representatives to Wegmans for a firsthand look at operations. Many of the company’s stores are giant 100,000 square foot superstores, double or triple the size of average supermarkets. A superstore typically employs from 500 to 600 people. Individual stores differ somewhat in terms of actual size and some special features. Aside from the features normally found in supermarkets, they generally have a large bakery Section (each store bakes its own bread, rolls, cakes, pies, and pastries), and extra-large produce sections. They also offer film processing a complete pharmacy, a card shop and video rentals. In-store floral shops range in size up to 800 square feet of space, and offer a wide variety of fresh-cut flowers, flower arrangements, varies and plants. In-store card shops covers over 1000 square feet of floor of floor space. The bulk foods department provides customers with the opportunity to select what quantities they desire from a vast array of foodstuffs and some nonfood items. Each store is a little different. Among the special features in some stores are a dry cleaning department, a wokery, and a salad bar. Some feature a Market Cafe that has different food stations, each devoted to preparing and serving a certain type of food. For example, one station has pizza and other Italian specialties, and another oriental food. There are also being a sandwich bar, a salad bar and a dessert station. Customers often wander among stations as they decide what to order. In several affluent locations, customers can stop in on their way home from work and choose from a selection of freshly prepared dinner entrees. Some stores have a coffee shop section with tables and chairs where shoppers can enjoy regular or specialty coffees and variety o f tempting pastries. The company prides itself on fresh produce. Produce is replenished as often as 12 times a day. The larger stores have produce sections that are four to five times the size of a produce section of an average supermarket. Wegmans offers locally grown produce a season. Wegmans uses a ’farm to market’ system whereby some local growers deliver their produce directly to individual stores, bypassing the main warehouse. That reduces the company’s inventory holding costs and gets the produce into the stores as quickly as possible. Growers may use specially designed containers that go right onto the store floor instead of large bins. This avoids the bruising that often occurs when fruits and vegetables are transferred from bins to display shelves and the need to devote labor to transfer the produce to shelves. In addition to large display cases of both fresh and frozen meat products, many stores have a full-service butcher shop that offers a variety of fresh meat products and where butchers are available to provide customized cuts of meat for customers. Each department handles its own ordering. Although sales records are available from records of items scanned at the checkouts, they are not used directly for replenishing stock. Other factors, such as pricing, special promotions, local circumstances must all be taken into account. However, for seasonal periods, such as holidays, managers often check scanner records to learn what past demand was during a comparable period. The superstores typically receive one truckload of goods per day from the main warehouse.During peak periods, a store may receive two truckloads from the main warehouse. The short lead-time greatly reduce the length of the time an item might be out of stock, unless the main warehouse is also out of stock. The company exercises strict control over suppliers, insisting on product quality and on-time deliveries. The company recognises the value of good employees. It typically invests an average of Rs.7000 to train each new employee. In addition to learning about stores operations, new employees learn the importance of good customer service and how to provide it. The employees are helpful, cheerfully answering customer questions or handling complaints. Employees are motivated through a combination of compensation, profit sharing, and benefits. Quality and Customer satisfaction are utmost in the minds of Wegmans management and its employees. Private label food items as well as name brands are regularly evaluated in test kitchens, along with the potential new products. Managers are responsible for checking and maintaining products and service quality in their departments. Moreover, employees are encouraged to report problems to their managers.If a customer is dissatisfied with an item and returns it, or even a portion of the item, the customer is offered a choice of a replacement or a refund. If the item is a Wegmans brand food item, it is then sent to the test kitchen to determine the cause of the problem. If the cause can be determined, corrective action is taken.

Power in ‘Ozymandias’ (page 14) and in one other poem from Character and voice: Compare Essay

Bothe Ozymandias and The River God have a strong theme of power throughout the poems. Power in The River God is first present when the river says â€Å"But I can drown those fouls† The use of the word â€Å"can† brings out the power of the river. He has the choice over people’s lives and the river is not afraid to let us know this. The whole sentence sounds like The River God is trying to add fear to whomever he is addressing, showing them he is in charge and they should know this. Ozymandias also attempts to bring out fear through his power. â€Å"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!† He is confident that he is more powerful than the mightiest and wants everyone to know this. The poet uses the word â€Å"despair†, in other words Ozymandias is saying look and be afraid. The word shows the worry and fear of those who lived in the times of Ozymandias. Both Ozymandias and The River God believe they are more powerful than any other, they are both arrogant and do not see anyone as competition to their reputation. The River God says â€Å"O I may be an old foul river but I have plenty of go†. He is saying that even though he is worn down and old he is still as strong and mighty as he was when he was a young river. The use of the word â€Å"plenty† brings out his arrogance, he is not just saying he is powerful but he is saying he will carry on with this strength for years to come. However in Ozymandias there is proof of his down fall, his loss of power. â€Å"Nothing beside remains† and â€Å"a shattered visage lies† are both evidence that even though he had all this power once he died it all left. The poet could have done this to show the reader that nothing lasts, everything has to end. The use of the word shattered is strong as it is almost like somebody defeated Ozymandias and that somebody was time. Als o it is quite ironic that on the stone it was written â€Å"Look on my works† as none of them remained and therefore couldn’t of been as important as he made out. Ozymandias is written to sound powerful when read out loud, iambic pentameter is used which gives the poem a regular sound.

Work Stress Costly

Work Stress Costly ?Work Stress is Costly and Creates High Employee Turnover? Summer 2001 Introduction Stress at work has become a serious health and economic burden in the U.S. Today?s workers are concerned about losing their job to downsizing, layoffs, mergers, and bankruptcies that have become common in the U.S. in recent years. Workers now have to work harder and are doing unfamiliar tasks. Adding to the pressures are new bosses, changing technology, electric surveillance equipment and a changing work force. Organizational managers are interested in maintaining a lower level of job stress for good reasons: high levels of stress can result in low productivity, increased absenteeism and turnover (Carrell, Elbert, Hatfield, 2000). Balancing a heavy workload with family responsibilities often results in high stress levels, poor coping, and insufficient time and energy for interacting with the important people in our lives (Farren 1999).Job Market The unemployment rate is the lowest in 30 years, 4.5%Eng lish: John Howard, director of the National Ins...or less, since April 1998. The unemployment rate is projected to continue to be low through the next 10 years. People are changing jobs in record numbers; a fact that is refueling the highest turnover rate in 20 years. The typical American worker holds nearly 9 different jobs before the age of 32. It is estimated that women will be 47.5% of the work force by 2008, up from 1998 levels of 46.3%. Men in the work force will decrease from 53.7% in 1998 to 52.5% by the year 2008 (BLS 2001).Information about Stress The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting research on psychological aspects of occupational safety and health, including stress at work. NIOSH defines job stress as ?Harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities,

Assumptions, dependencies, constraints, exceptions example

Electricity Workstations to be used by the Department Chair and the Enrolment Advisers Users have knowledge in using web browsers and can understand and execute simple HTML functionalities. Students fully understand and comply with the pre-enrolment guidelines and procedures imposed by the department. Dependencies Maintenance and security of the website Website licensing requirements All information needed for the system is completely gathered Pre-enrolment guidelines and procedures must be properly disseminated External storage for back-up purposes Constraints The system is not connected with the ORACLE system. The system does not cover the pre-enrolment of regular students. The system cannot be accessed outside the university. The system does not set the time of appointment for the conditional student. It only reminds the student of certain details that he must remember for a smooth and orderly pre-advising. The system does not handle the approval of proposed schedule. The system does not handle the encoding of subjects. Exclusions The following statements specify what the system should not do: 1. ) The system shall not grant access to users that do not belong to the Department of Information Systems of the University of Santo Tomas. 2. ) The system shall not grant access to users who that do not have an account in the system. 3. ) The system shall not grant access to users who have not logged-in in their accounts. 5. ) The system shall not grant access to users if the given username and password do not match an account in the system database. 6. ) The system shall not accept users who try to register with empty fields in the registration page. 7. ) The system shall not allow conditional students to create a schedule unless he is accompanied by his parent(s)/guardian to sign a contract/waiver together with the department chair. 8. ) The system shall not grant access to students after the given time and date of until when they can send their schedule. 9. ) The system shall not allow unwarranted parties to view data that they are not authorized to see.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Consultancy ( team project Essay

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Consultancy ( team project individual reflection) - Essay Example 4). Each of its parts; from description to the action plan is carefully designed to cover virtually every element of a project reflection. Each and every step of the Gibb’s cycle will be closely followed with respect to the details of the teamwork during the project. Per say this consultancy project was not only vital for my personal growth, but also for my programme; I learnt a plethora of lessons, and the experience was nothing short of exhilarating. The project concerned the Port of Dover, a logistics sector owned, maintained and operated by the Dover Harbour Board. This port ranks among the busiest ports in Europe and handles approximately five million excess of vehicles each year. In context, my team comprised of eight members with a single leader (Willeke). Our project, as in the title above, was logistics and supply chain management consultancy. Each day, the team converged in the University Library, or sometimes in the Information Technology Lab. Procedurally, we began by each member of the group tabling their individual report works mostly during the morning hours. Then, a discussion of the progress for each member of the team ensued. Here, each member would present their hardships and everything appertaining to their progress with resp ect to the task allocated. After the discussion, Willeke, the team leader, would give her opinions regarding the overall progress and give her suggestions as well. Concerning task division, the leader began by giving out questionnaires to every member of the team to complete. This step solely applied the Belbin theory of team roles, which in some way, was meant to harmonise the working of the group (Belbin, 2009 p. 3). After that, Microsoft Excel sheets were given to every one of us that would be used for the period of two and a half weeks. Notably yet, all the tasks that would be allocated to the team were based on the two provided files. As one of the members of the team, my primary task was to

Participation or Non-Participation for a Tennis Professional Essay

Participation or Non-Participation for a Tennis Professional - Essay Example Given the magnitude of the tournament, it would present the best platform to sensitize the World and Americans on my stance and to make them join me in fighting this course. Participation is better given that a large number of people gather to watch this tournament and that the competition attracts people from various countries. Further, several broadcasting channels televise the Indianapolis tennis tournament that will enable my position to reach a large number of people (Durst 1). For a professional tennis player, participation presents the best way of putting forth one's opinion. Just like evidenced in other sports activities, best players choose to participate and put forth their stance concerning an occurrence in the course of their participation. For instance, when a police officer shot a teenager named Garner, and people were of the opinion that the Jury’s decision did not provide justice to the deceased. There were increased protests among the public and LeBron James an NBA star sought to oppose the decision in a game scheduled for Brooklyn. Before the game, LeBron wore a T-shirt with inscriptions showing support for young Garner (Bondy 1). A professional tennis player would pass his stance against the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts via pre-match or post-match interviews. In addition, a professional player can bring forth their position by wearing T-shirts with inscriptions of the stand they take concerning the decision. Finally, given the lar ge social media following that professional sports personality have in these media; the professional tennis player can post his stance on his wall. Despite the lack of participation in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships being impactful, participation and making one’s stance known through various means is the best option. Given the large following, that tennis professionals receive worldwide, failure of involvement would not go well with all the fans. Some fans of the professional tennis player would be so devastated by the failure of the occurrence of the event that they would stop focusing on the issue that led to the decision.  Ã‚  

Quality of Care in a Rural Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality of Care in a Rural Population - Essay Example Rural adults, according to research, state five times more often than urban adults to feel fair or poor about their health status. Most of these rural residents prefer to get their care locally and may not get specialty care because of their reluctance to go elsewhere (Pierce, Foley, Clark, 2006). There are also many other cited barriers to care. Those include lack of financial resources, distance to care, lack of transportation, and a shortage of healthcare professionals that varies by profession, region, and state (Merwin, et.al. 2006). Rates of those healthcare professionals continue to decline in rural areas. There is also difficulty getting appropriate supplies and provides problems for services like home health care and meals on wheels. There are many strategies that have been contemplated for use in improving this rural healthcare problem. It is much more studied now than in the past, with the information given in the Healthy People 2010 study. In the rural communities in Oregon, there is an effort to solve this problem. There are several very rural hospitals in Oregon which are Critical Access Hospitals.

Issues facing european low cost airlines

Issues facing european low cost airlines As predicted in the beginning of the millennium year by the International Air Transport Association, the low cost airline sector has grown at a rapid pace during the last decade from carrying 6.3% of the domestic and international passengers within Europe in 1999 predicting to increase to 16-18% in 2005 and has become the order of day in Europe. Although the European airline sector was dominated by flag carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France etc. with a share of 70%, this fact transformed with the deregulations coming into effect, increasing the need for an optimal model of operation. That is, as the average airfares in the low-cost airlines sector account for just 3% of the average monthly EU industrial wage, customers turned towards these airline services (Datta Chakravarty, n.d). 3.0 Ryanair Profile in brief Ryanair Airlines, founded by the Ryan family was initially a full service conventional airline in 1985 which was introduced as an alternative travelling between Ireland and the UK to then state monopoly Aer Lingus. However due to financial issues it successfully restructured itself in early 1990s as the first low-fares, no frills carrier in Europe modeling based on Southwest Airlines. The responsibility of Ryanair was taken over by a management team lead by Michael OLeary and was soon floated on both Dublin and London Stock Exchanges in 1997 and admitted among NASDAQ 100 (OHiggins, 2007). Ryanair as a leading low-fares airline offers cheap flights to 150 destinations up-to-date along 1000 low cost routes and provide its customers with cheap and fast air travel excluding fuel surcharges with 100% possibility for online check-ins (Ryanair website, n.d). Although Ryanair has not published its vision and mission clearly, they look to find the big picture and set a broad direction and OLearys direction is to be the largest Low Cost Leader in the European airline industry. This vision is supported by absolute dedication to low cost performance in every element of the value chain, quick gate turnarounds, nonunion operations, performance-based incentive compensation plans, standardization on one type of aircraft, and flying (in most cases) to secondary airports, which provides significant savings for Ryanair (Box Byus, 2007). 4.0 Internal Analysis 4.1 Organizations Strategic Capability Analysis Ryanair has positioned itself as the largest low-fares carrier in Europe and as a business which returns value for money to its fare-concuious leisure and business customers. That is, as Ryanair explains, At Ryanair we guarantee you the lowest air fares on the internet. However our success is due not just to our low fares but also a winning combination of our No.1 on-time record, our friendly and efficient people and our new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft (Puget, 2003) which all add up to its value. Its ancillary services improve its value which is 13% of the total revenue. Although there are low-fares airline services in the European market due to the effectiveness of Ryanair it has been able to become market leader with 29.9% of market share in 2006. Their competitors have not been able to effectively copy the low cost strategy and usage of secondary and regional airports. Inimitable Organised Ryanair holds its uniqueness in its operating strategy which is based on low-cost. It adopts point-to-point flights to secondary or regional airports which no other service follows and occupies a one-way pricing policy which eliminates direct comparison with competitors (Ryanair, n.d). Ryanair is well organized within its low-cost strategy. It offers 100% online check-ins and flies to 150 European destinations along 1000 routes. There is no physical check in where passenger is required to forward his passport and reference number (Marketing Teacher Ltd, n.d). It has one-way pricing strategy which eliminates minimum stay requirements within airports (Ryanair, n.d). Valuable Rare 4.2 Company Resources The resources of Ryanair could be categorized and explained according to the following. Type Ryanair resources Physical resources Head office at Dublin airport Ireland 202 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts with 189 capacity 150 destinations through 1000 routes (as at 2010 April) Financial resources Total assets worth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4,634.2 million Shareholder equity of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,992 million Total operating revenues worth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,693 million (all as at 2006 March) Human Resource Over 6,300 employees (2008) CEO Michel OLeary Intellectual resources Market share of 29.9% (2006) Customer base of 34.9 million (2006) Largest travel website in Europe The fifth most recognized brand on Google Most profitable airline in the world based on operating and net profit margins on a per-airplane and per-passenger basis (2006) 4.3 Company Competencies No frill, low cost leadership could be considered the most significant aspect of Ryanair and thereby cater from low to middle level customers The ancillary revenue methods such as accommodation services, care rental, in-flight sales etc. which add up to 15.3% (2006) which had a 36% increase during 2005-2006 Possessing the preemptive advantage and being the market leader provides opportunity to expand into other markets including USA, Asia and Africa. Allowing internet access to its consumers leads to elevate sales and reduce the per-units cost Point-to-point short haul flights and usage of secondary and regional airports reduce passenger congestion and thereby avoid high airport charges. The personality of Michel OLeary has a great impact on the success of Ryanair where he personally looks into unique marketing strategies. 4.0 Industry Analysis 4.1 Porters Five Forces 4.1.1 Competitor rivalry -High and increasing The direct and main low-cost competitors of Ryanair include easyJet, Air Berlin, Germanwings, Lufthansa and Tranavia and the industry was joined by approximately 60 new low-cost airlines in 2004 (Experience Festival, n.d). A major reason for the development of this sector was the airline deregulation in 1997 due to which many companies were attracted towards the industry. This resulted in full-service airlines adopting the low-cost strategy eg. Aer Lingus 2002. The economical recession increased the aggressiveness of all competitors as they were compelled to survive in the market which resulted in frequent flyer programmes by many competing businesses including Lufthansa, Aer Lingus etc (flyertalk, n.d). However the attractiveness of the industry is high for Ryanair due to its low-cost structure, use of secondary airports and first-mover advantage along with experience of almost 2 decades. 4.1.2 Threat of new entrants Moderate Although it is accepted that the European budget airline industry is healthy with huge potential and incremental growth, the effect on Ryanair from new entrants could be considered as moderate due to its position in the market, its strong brand name and economies of scale achieved with time. For instance, Ryanair saved 42.6% of marketing and distribution costs through direct bookings in 2002 (Brophy George, 2003). Although the deregulation practices minimized the barriers of entering the industry challenging the market leader would consume both time and resources of the new companies. 4.1.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Low to Moderate Types of suppliers of Ryanair would mainly be fuel suppliers, aircraft suppliers, airport authorities and suppliers of support services. Travel agents would not count at present due to on line bookings. Ryanair has no control on fuel prices which is totally governed by world trade and Middle Eastern countries. However it has a very healthy relationship with the main aeroplane supplier, Boeing (Brophy George, 2003) which also provides the company with ancillary goods and services including technical support and training, spare parts support, training of flight crew etc. Accordingly it could be said that the power of suppliers is at low to moderate level. Eg. Ryanair cancelled its contract with OnAir, the supplier of the on board mobile communication service due to financial issues (Robertson, 2010). 4.1.4 Bargaining power of consumers High The passenger base of Ryanair was 34.9 million in 2006 and 58.5 million in 2008 (Ryanair, n.d) and increasing due to recessionary effects and current recovery stage resulting in attraction towards low-cost air travel. As Brophy and George (2003) explain, the power of buyers depends on standardization of product, elasticity of demand, brand identity and the quality of service. The switching cost is very low for customers due to the parity of services and online bookings. Accordingly Ryanair is compelled to practice competitive pricing. 4.1.5 Threat of substitutes Low to Moderate The major substitutes for air travel in Europe are rail, road and to some extent boat travel. With advantages such as ability of localization, easier accessibility along with safety railway is significant but may take longer to reach the destination. Ryanair with its low-fare structure is comparatively cheaper than railway which directly substitutes its services through excellent continental services. Road travel would provide similar benefits but Ryanair could overcome it through emphasizing on effective short haul schedules. Development in communication could also be a threat to some extent as business professionals could communicate through video conference etc. from one corner of the world to the other instantly sitting at their office desks. 5.0 Macro-environmental analysis 5.1 PESTEL analysis 5.1.1 Political Government laws and regulations regarding increase of airport landing charges The law for carbon emissions passed by the government on the aviation industry charging environmental taxes EU regulation to reduce the inconvenience caused to passengers by delays, cancellations and denied boarding where airlines are to provide standardized and immediate assistance to them Severe security measures imposed by UK authorities due to terrorist attacks 5.1.2 Economical Real GDP growth rate of EU at a reducing trend since 2007 -4.2% in 2009 (eurostat, n.d) Reduction in inflation rate of the EU from 3.7% in 2008 to 1.0% in 2009 (eurostat, n.d) Recessionary effects and current practices for recovery and depreciation of the US dollar 5.1.3 Social Increase in numbers of business travellers Negative perceptions on air travel due to safety issues Attraction to low-cost airlines after the economic recession 5.1.4 Technology Internet competition for online bookings Fuel efficiency, low carbon emissions and low noise emissions from Boeing aircrafts Other technological expansions e.g. Web sales 5.1.5 Environmental Cancellation of thousands of flights due to spread of volcanic ash from Iceland Strict regulations on carbon emissions Considerations on global warming and noise pollution 5.1.6 Legal Laws relating to airport charges and route policies Safety measures taken by governments due to terrorism regarding passengers and airline staff Regulation regarding misleading advertising 6.0 SWOT Analysis 6.1 Strengths Brand image and reputation Ryanair possesses the privilege of being the initial company to the low-fare air travel industry in Europe and thereby has the advantage of being the First Mover or preemptive mover. Most importantly as the market leader Ryanair presents its brand as a bundle of functional benefits including punctuality and efficiency (Puget, 2003). Pricing strategy As the first low-fares airline in Europe their pricing strategy was extremely unique where 70% of the seats are sold at lowest two fares and the rest is at higher prices with 6% sold at the highest and customers are ruled out of fuel surcharges (Marketing Teacher Ltd, n.d). Customers are content with the aspect of value for money and best prices compared to other competing airlines. Marketing strategy They utilize adverts which basically communicate the low-fares factor to its customers. Mostly they use controversy as their promotion method where for instance, bidding to purchase Aer Lingus, the Irish rival of Ryanair, charging  £1 per person for the use of washroom on board from 2010 (Crouthamel 2010), publishing controversy calendars with female cabin crew for charity purposes etc. Also another important factor is the ancillary services or non-flight scheduled services such as hotels, car hires, in-flight sales etc. 6.2 Weaknesses Cost Structure Ryanair is at continuous attempt to reduce costs at any possible situation and therefore it has a negative impact on customer satisfaction due to this high cost consciousness. According to a poll by TripAdvisor in 2006 Ryanair was voted as the worlds least favourite airline and Ryanair is ranked as a 2 Star low-cost airline by airlinequality.com (n.d) which also explains the negative perspective of customers about low quality. Also this cost structure is constantly challenged by the fluctuations of fuel prices. Staff issues Ryanair scores low regarding industrial relations where they are alleged of providing poor working conditions. Ryanair recruit young pilots who could work hard and with experience and knowledge gathered at Ryanair they tend to move on as a result of low commitment. 6.3 Opportunities Expansion to the USA The low-fares structure is not common in the US as it is in Europe and therefore Ryanair would be the first mover to the US domestic airline market as it plans to extend itself under a different brand for long haul flights between US and Europe (McGrath, 2007). It is said that Ryanair would be the cheapest USA flights in history and its popularity and success in Europe would spill over to the new brand. Recession Price has become an extremely important factor in making purchase decisions and therefore Ryanair could score due to its low-fares nature during and at the aftermath of the global economic recession. The grid (Appendix B) illustrates the increased demand towards Ryanair where its passenger numbers has grown by 13% from 2007-2008. New aircrafts and focus on business professionals Ryanair currently owns 189 Boeing 737-800 which are more environmental friendly and larger in capacity. Also discussions are underway for an order for 200-300 aircrafts for 2013-2016 requirements (centre for aviation, 2009). Also with changes in the business world and focus on countries such as China and USA the demand for long haul flights have increased. 6.4 Threats Fuel prices and other charges As Ryanair does not pass on fuel surcharges to its customers, the unpredictability in fuel prices and inexperience in effective hedging compared to its competitors it is at risk of continuing with lowering costs. Also increase in airport and handling charges and route charges due to expansion would also threaten its cost structure. Political influence As Ryanair operates in more than one country it is influenced by various legal requirements which are different to one another and therefore faces difficulties in standardizing processes and practices. 7.0 Recommendations Considering a much more structured marketing strategy which does not depend on controversy publicity. Taking measures to reduce negative publicity through practicing CSR projects and demonstrating ethical behaviour moving away from merely being profit conscious Proving customers with benefits of the low-cost structure through effective customer service which would increase numbers and thereby would positively affect profit margins although costs may increase in the process. 8.0 Conclusion Ryanair as the largest low-fares carrier and the market leader of the European budget airline market has been able to succeed due to its unique and out-of-the-box thinking. With a high rate of rivalry within the industry with big players such as easyJet, Lufthansa, Air France practicing competitive strategies time-to-time Ryanair is required to follow the correct strategies in order to remain at its throne. Accordingly effective analysis of its internal, external and industrial aspects would increase its possibilities. Ryanair with its low-cost strategy and powerful brand reputation could match its strengths with the opportunities in the market, especially those which have arisen due to the economical downturn increasing the demand for low-cost travel. Furthermore, due to its capabilities the industry attractiveness is at a high level for Ryanair. However the business is at a spotlight due to its controversy practices which they utilize as a means of publicity could negatively affect its brand in the long run and therefore should take steps to reduce these effects.

Tay-Sachs Essays -- Health Medical Medicine Biology Essays

Tay-Sachs Abstract Tay-Sachs is a disease caused by a mutation to the gene which codes for Hex A. Without Hex A, a cell cannot degrade GM2 ganglioside into GM3 ganglioside. This results in a build up of ganglioside’s in lysosomes of neurons. The result is varying degrees of mental deterioration. New DNA-based screening is currently being developed to replace the enzyme-based screening techniques that have been used since 1969. This will not only speed up the diagnosis, but also allow for earlier detection of Tay-Sachs by using the parents genotypes. Introduction Tay-Sachs disease is one of three autosomal recessive, lysosomal storage disorders, collectively known as the GM2 gangliosidoses. They result from accumulation of GM2 ganglioside in lysosomes, primarily of neurons. The clinical symptoms of Tay-Sachs vary from infantile lethal neurodegenerative disease to less severe adult onset forms. The latter are often characterized by motor neuron impairments. The recognition of the high incidence of this disease among Ashkenazi Jews and the identification of the deficiency of hexosaminidase A as the basic defect were essential findings leading to the establishment of mass carrier screening programs for this disease [2]. Recently, research has focused on the DNA-based diagnostics that are anticipated to play a role in future carrier screening programs [1]. GM2 ganglioside hydrolysis The lysosomal hydrolase, beta-hexosaminidase, occurs predominantly in two forms, hexosaminidase A (Hex A) and hexosaminidase B (Hex B). Hex A is comprised of one alpha and one beta subunit while Hex B is comprised of two beta subunits [3]. While both subunits contain similar active sites, only the alpha subunit can hydrolyze GM2 gan... ... Gravel, R. (1990). The molecular basis of Tay-Sachs disease: mutation identification and diagnosis. Clin. Biochem. 23:409-415. 2. Navon, R., Proia, R. (1991). Tay-Sachs disease in Moroccan Jews deletion of a phenylalanine in the alpha-subunit of beta--hexosaminidase. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 48:412-419. 3. Gray, R.G.F., Green, A., Rabb, L., Broadhead, D.M., Besley, G.T.N. (1990). A case of the B1 variant of GM2-gangliosidosis. J. Inher. Metab. Dis. 13:280-282. 4. Meier, E., Schwarzmann, G., Furst, W., Sandhoff, K. (1991). The human GM2 activator protein. J. Biological Chem. 266:1879-1887. 5. Mahuran, D.J. (1991). The biochemistry of HEXA and HEXB gene mutations causing GM2 gangliosidosis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 1096:87-94. 6. Robbins, S., Ranzi, R., Kumar, V., (Eds). (1984). Pathologic Basis of Disease. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Co. 142-145.

How important was Berlin to the development and outbreak of the Cold War, 1945-1961?

The first period of time we need to look at is the year of 1945, when the Second World War ended. This was also the year when the Yalta, in February 1945, and the Potsdam Conference, in July 1945, was hold in order to discuss certain problems and plans that occurred or should have been done after the end of war. The tensions, which had lead to the beginning of the Cold War started to emerge more intensively at those two conferences, as there were many areas of disagreement between the USA and the USSR. One of the four main areas of disagreement was Germany. As the Yalta Conference was hold in February 1945 the war against Germany and Japan was still on going but an end of all terror was close. Problems that had emerged from the Tehran Conference, that had been hold in 1943, had to be resolved at that conference. It was agreed that that Germany firstly had to be divided into four zones being occupied by Britain, France, the USA and the USSR. Germany should also pay reparations to the countries it had damaged in the wart earlier, especially huge amounts to Russia as Stalin demanded. However, Stalin also did not like the idea of splitting Germany into two parts.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? Germany, by paying huge amounts of money to Russia and other countries, should be weakened by that so I would not become a future threat anymore. Also Stalin intended to finance Russia’s rebuild of the destructions, which it has suffered from Nazi Germany in the war. In the year 1952 Stalin still seemed to favour the idea of a united Germany over which the USSR had no control but some influence. However, there were also other factors of disagreement at those conferences, which caused massive problems in the relationship between the USA and the USSR. Poland for example proved to be more difficult than Germany. Eventually, the superpowers agreed that the USSR’s demands over Poland’s border in the east would be met. Furthermore Poland should receive territorial compensation from Germany. Additionally Stalin did believe that the Allies would have accepted Poland’s mainly communist or USSR sympathetic government. However, Churchill was not sure about what Stalin intended to do and returned to his strong anti-communism by 1945. Adding to that also Roosevelt shared this point of view. After Roosevelt’s death in April 1945 a new harsher era towards the Soviet Union started to emerge under Truman in power of the USA. As the free elections, which had been decided to be carried out in the Yalta Conference, had not taken place in Poland yet Truman refused to listen to Molotov’s explanations for that. US suspicions about Soviet motives about a security in Eastern Europe increased. However, at the Potsdam Conference hold in July 1945 the decision for the acceptance of Russian plans for Poland was made although the issue of Poland was very complex. Stalin saw it as an issue influencing the life or the death of the Soviet Union. Churchill however saw it as an act of honour. Roosevelt had always been against the idea of a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. In Stalin’s point of view however Russia needed this sphere to provide security for the Soviet Union. He created worries about such a sphere, as the new US call for an â€Å"Open Door† policy was introduced, involving the suggestion of not having such spheres of influence. Roosevelt however suggested that those disagreement should be an issue rather as the war would be ended that during the war. This of course motivated or rather gave Stalin the time to ensure Soviet security interests in Eastern Europe. Apart from disagreements about Poland and Eastern Europe there was also a third issue where the USA and the USSR did not agree with each other. Russia had suffered hugely from horrible destruction in the Second World War. As the Axis forces had retreated between 1944 and 1945, they have left systematic destruction behind, destroying 1,700 towns and 17,000 villages. Due to that Stalin saw economic reconstruction as a priority after the war. However, Truman tried everything to contain the Soviet power whenever it was possible. Due to that, at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, Truman said that the USA would agree to any reparations being paid to Russia by East Germany. However, in return Russia would have to send 60% of the, from West received, goods in form of goods and raw materials back to the West again. In 1944 Russia however agreed to join the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. But when the USSR asked for a 6 billion dollar loan in January 1945, the USA said she would only agree if the Soviet Union would open its Eastern markets to the US capital. Obviously Russia did not accept these conditions. But at the Yalta Conference it was agreed from both sides that a 10 billion dollar loan from Germany would be accepted as a beginning of the reparations. However, as in August 1945 a request for a 1,000 billion dollar loan was ignored by the US side, the USSR increased reparation payments from it own Eastern sector. A final point of disagreements or rather arguments was the drop of the A-bomb of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 by the USA. This was a slap in the face of the USSR, as at the Yalta Conference it was agreed that Russia and the USA would end the war with Japan together. It was also seen as a refusal to share new US technology with the USSR. Truman did decide that, in order to prevent any Russian communist influence in Asia. Stalin interpreted that behaviour as demonstration of a strong USA next to a weak USSR. Looking at those different factors overall you can say that the most significant problem in the year of 1945 was the dropping of the A-bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945. Both the USA and the USSR had shown each other before that they would not work together in certain situations. However, as the USA and the USSR had agreed to finish the war with Japan together after Germany would have been defeated but the USA literally ended that issue on its own it clearly amplified the fact of not wanting to work together. Also it showed that there was a sort of competition going on already and that Truman wanted to prevent any Soviet demands for influence in Asia. He wanted, as far as possible, to contain Soviet power and reduce the Soviet sphere. Secondly we need to look at the time period between the years of 1946 and 1949, which were the years just after the world war when everything was recovering and Germany was split up into different zones. By looking at the end of 1945, we can definitely say, that there were great disputes between the USA and USSR already. The West was also concerned about developments in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean, where the US had significant interests. Iran was mainly an area of US concern, as the USSR was feared to spread its influence there. The USSR also replied with saying that they had as much right as the USA to oil. Immediately the Iranian prime minister was urged by the American side, which forced Stalin to back down in order to get a deal of oil concessions. However, Stalin was never really interested in that area which again shows that the competition and tensions were going on and each side tried to use any chance for an argument or a disagreement. The same situation of the Soviet leader backing down happened in the spring and summer of 1946, when concessions from Turkey were opposed and the Russian leader once again backed down. However, the most significant problems of that time period took place in Europe. To start with, we look at Germany and the problem of reparations. Both sides feared during the cold war the country would become part of the opposite camp. At the Potsdam Conference it was agreed that Germany should be divided into four Allied zones and it should act, as one economic unit administered by the ACC. Berlin should also be divvied into four zones and Germany should be demilitarised, de-Nazified, democratised, decentralised and de-industrialised. During there were agreements on that issue, the issue of reparations still seemed to cause problems. Tensions over the political developments in the Soviet Union started to emerge early. The main area was economic, as the USSR supported the idea of a rather agricultural country but the US demanded an industrialised Germany. At the Paris meeting of the Council of foreign ministers, Byrnes decided to test the Soviet co-operation over the Potsdam agreements by the four allies proposing an act that demilitarised Germany for the next 25 years. Russia agreed but still the USA refused to talk about the question of reparations. Further refusals of reparations from the US side were given in July 1945, when Molotov insisted for a 10 billion dollar loan. Additionally demands for reparations were refused again at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Moscow. Furthermore Russia had to accept that there would not be shipping of coal and steel to the USSR anymore and that the USSR would have to give back some of the resources it already received by the West. This proposal however was rejected by the USSR. The Soviet Union saw that as an attempt to build up the Western Germany economy and therefore also saw it as another military, potential threat as it might ally to the more or less enemy USA. The meeting of the Council of Foreign Minister in London in December 1947 was judged to fail even before it took place as Britain and the USA would not agree on any reparations paid to Russia by Germany. However at this meeting the creation of Bizonia was decided, where Britain and the US would join to create a separate West Germany. Then half a year later in 1948, France also decided to join this pact and Trizonia emerged together with the introduction of the Deutschmark, a new currency, which was also introduced in West Berlin a few days later. This of course was a clear statement to the Soviet Union that the USA did not have any intentions to work together with the USSR. Tensions between the two superpowers increased further during the first Berlin Crisis at the Berlin Blockade in 1948. As the USSR did not like the idea of a divided Germany they put pressure on West Berlin by cutting of all road, rail and freight traffics as well as the supply of electricity. This however did not result in a hot war in the Cold War, as the USA replied with a massive airlift delivering food and fuel to West Berlin. It was ended as Stalin also called of the blockade one year later. The USA interpreted that blockade as a statement to drive the Allies out of West Berlin and take over the Western zones of Germany. Therefore in May 1949, the FDR was created. The USSR first did not want accept that division but then in October decided to agree with that division and the GDR was set up in Eastern Germany with the Soviet Control Commission supervising that area. This division of Germany demonstrated the division of whole Europe into two hostile camps. However there were also other events than in Germany at that period of time that further increased the tension between the two superpowers. Firstly Kennan’s Long Telegram where Kennan argued that the USSR was a dangerous and expansionist state due to its security fears, internal politics and leadership as well as its Marxist-Leninist views and ideology. He also said the USA would never be able or willing to co-operate with such a state and therefore this telegram influenced US foreign policy towards the USSR, such as the creation of the policy of containment. Furthermore the Iron Curtain speech by Winston Churchill supported what Kennan’s Long Telegram had already amplified. It argued for an end of compromise and arguing against Roosevelt’s idea at the Yalta Conference to co-operate with the USSR. Stalin saw Churchill as Hitler and immediately interpreted that as a call for war with the USSR. Due to that anti-Western propaganda in the Soviet Union strongly increased. Adding to that Kennan had supported the division of Germany and therefore of Europe before it was even considered at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in London. Meanwhile, the USSR pursued a very flexible approach in the years after the war. It might have had expansionist and opportunistic views and parts but after all the Russians were prepared to communicate and co-operate with the US side. But as time developed and tensions increased people with more extreme and harsher views came to power in these hostile camps. John Foster Dulles for example called for military and economic supports for states threatened by communism. Byrnes spent 5,700 billion dollars on stabilising economy outside the Soviet sphere in 1946. If the USSR had wanted economic support all trade barriers should have been called off and the US should have a greater say in economic issues in Eastern Europe. Next to those events that increased the tensions between the USSR and the USA or rather generally events that caused problems we also need to look at the economic crisis in Western Europe between 1946 and 1947. In America, although there was a great media campaign against the communistic Soviet Union, the majority of people were not convinced to give loans to allied countries or to increase the military budget. There was even voted for a cut of Truman’s budget, including military expenditure. However, the bad situation in Western Europe finally seemed to go into the direction of persuading them to change their opinion: Many countries in Europe had suffered horribly in terms of their economy. Furthermore there were bad harvests due to the severe winter in 1946-1947. Additionally communist parties gained more popularity especially in France and in Italy. George Marshall, the secretary of state, said that there would be needed 17 billion dollars to recover Europe’s economy. This was still not enough for the Republican Congress. Only in 1947, when Britain announced that it would not be able anymore to give economic aid to Greece and Turkey everything changed. Acheson linked economic loans to the communist struggle and persuaded people to support Truman’s policy of containment. He argued with the â€Å"rotten apple† theory and the theory of the domino effect. As a response of that the US side set up the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. As economic aid of 300 million dollars was given to Greece and 100 million dollars to Turkey and military advisors were sent to Greece, Stalin interpreted that as an act to enlarge the US sphere of influence. Coming to the Marshall plan, the US thought it would be able to recover Europe’s economy with a revived German economy. However the agreement about that question failed at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Moscow in April 1947, as the USA still refused to talk about reparations being paid to the USSR and as the USSR was uncompromising about that topic. Then as the Marshall Plan was announced on 5 June 1947 it was clear that the USSR would not accept the conditions and requirements, which the economic aid required to happen. The USA and the USSR saw the Marshall Plan as an attempt to weaken the Soviet control of the East part of Europe. Furthermore the USSR saw it as a statement of â€Å"dollar imperialism† been introduced to establish US influence in Europe. However, the US economic and political domination Europe did not benefit from the Marshall Plan. Tensions between the superpowers increased further as were was a repeated refusal of reparations paid to the USSR by Germany at talks in early June. After that talk it was decided to exclude the USSR from further discussions. Under Andrei Zhdanov the Marshall Plan was even describes as being an act of preparing to extend the US power in order to launch a new world war. In one of his speeches he even describes the world as being divided into two opposing camps, which later was famous as the â€Å"Two-Camps† Doctrine. Furthermore the establishment of Cominform marked the end of the flexible and hesitant foreign policy of the USSR compared to US actions. Finally, as the tension increased more the CIA intervened in Italian and French politics to act against communist influence. This only motivated Stalin’s determination to control Eastern Europe even more and to get rid of those agents in France and Italy. The Soviet Union replied with plans to increase the control of Eastern Europe and also to integrate their economies into the USSRs one. These measure only increased Cold War tensions even more. Now, by looking at all what happened in this time period, we can definitely say that Germany was the biggest problem at that time. The formation of Bizonia and Trizonia clearly amplified that the USA did not want to co-operate with the USSR and that the establishment of two hostile camps was necessary. Furthermore the Berlin blockade showed the same intentions for the USSR, it did not want to work with the USA. Finally he introduction of the Deutschmark symbolised a clear separation between Western Germany/USA and Eastern Europe/USSR. Finally we need to look at the time period between 1954 and 1961 to judge whether Berlin or rather Germany was the biggest problem in the years between 1945 and 1961. After Stalin’s death in 1953 Khrushchev came to power in the USSR. This year marked a development towards better relationships as now Stalin was dead and therefore the extremist views about the US seemed to rest for a certain period of time. The new leader of the Soviet Union seemed to be keen about compromising with the West, as he was less paranoid than Stalin. For Khrushchev Berlin was an embarrassing problem and he wanted to find a solution for that problem. He tried to create better relationships also to avoid a nuclear war. However, as we look at the years between 1958 and 1961 and therefore and the second Berlin crisis we can see that there were also moments of disagreements and argument as there before already. The second Berlin crisis emerged as Khrushchev set up the first Berlin Ultimatum. This meant that the West had to sign a formal peace with Germany and agree that West Berlin should become demilitarised as well as an international area. If that would not be signed there would be a separate peace signed with the GDR handing over the control of the access routes into West Berlin. These moves were firstly done to prevent West Berlin from becoming a nuclear power but also to impress Chinese communist leaders and his own people. Although Khrushchev gave them a time limit of sixth months to sign the Ultimatum neither the act of signing happened nor was a peace signed the GDR. By 1959 however, 200,000 people were moving from East Berlin to West Berlin each year badly affecting the East Berlin economy. Ulbricht wanted to unify Berlin, as he did not want any West be present in East Germany, whereas Khrushchev wanted divisions to occur between the two areas. After the Vienna Summit, Khrushchev gave his OK for Ulbricht the building of a physical Berlin division and set another six months deadline for the West to sign a peace pact. However, as by August 1961 there were 20,00 0 refugees moving to West Berlin Khrushchev approved the Berlin border to be secured between 3 and 5 August. At first a barbed wire was set up and by 13 August the building of a wall was completed. The Berlin Wall remained as Cold War image until the pull down in November 1989 when the Cold War moved away from Germany, Europe. The wall however also solved any problems that had ever existed between West and East Berlin although the US made a shell force in West Berlin after its set up. This and the famous â€Å"face-off† between Russian and American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie finally increased tensions. However, by 1963 the Berlin Crisis was pretty much over. Another incident, where the tensions rose again and relationships became worse was at the Paris Summit and the U-2 incident. At that time West Berlin did not want to make any further concessions of East Berlin. On 1 May 1960 a USSR missile brought down a U-2 spy plane of the USA flying over the USSR. Eisenhower was hugely embarrassed for that but thought he did not apologise for this. As a reaction Khrushchev cancelled Eisenhower’s visit in the USSR and the Paris Summit failed. Additionally the Soviets proposed a confederation between the two German states leaving alliances to the NATO and the Warsaw Pact. West saw that as first moves to wards a unification and German disarmament. This however was resisted due to West Berlin as an espionage base behind the Iron Curtain. This stalemate continued until the free elections in the GDR. However, a first moment of agreement about a certain issue was when the US decided to accept the idea of a neutral Austria and a reduction of direct American influence over Austria. Although Khrushchev followed the theory of â€Å"Peaceful Coexistence† he thought there still could be an international transition to socialism. This was also amplified by his foreign policy, which was established in 1956. It said that in the new nuclear age, peaceful coexistence was possible and necessary. First steps towards that was the establishment of the Warsaw Pact in 1955, which was also a response to Western Germany becoming member of the NATO. The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between the Soviet Union and all East European countries allied to the USSR, involving East Germany. However, there was one clause in the Pact that said if there was a general European treaty of collective security signed, the Pact should be dissolved. This clearly marked the beginning of better relationships. A second moment of representing and developing friendship between those countries was the Geneva Summit in July 1955. Nuclear weapons and Germany were the main issues that were discussed. The fact that discussions were taking place showed an improvement to the relationship between Stalin and Truman. Although there were made agreements on the need for less confrontation and more co-operations, as well as for a stop of testing nuclear weapons, there was still a disagreement about disarmament, European security and control of nuclear weapons. The idea of a united Germany was also rejected. Eisenhower’s â€Å"Open Skies† proposal was therefore rejected by Khrushchev but U-2 spy planes carried on doing their spy flights anyway. Another moment of friendship and peace was, when Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to Camp David, where he also agreed to withdraw his Ultimatum although the US did not make any concessions. Further discussions should take place at the Paris Summit in May 1960. As a final conclusion, you can definitely say that Germany and especially Berlin was a major factor for the development of the Cold War. The issue if West Berlin being inside the heart of East Germany had always caused huge trouble such as the Berlin Blockade as well as the second Berlin crisis. If a divided Germany had not existed there would not have been that many problems. For example the first Berlin crisis, where Stalin ordered to completely cut off West Berlin from any supplies of the East and the Western part of Germany, nearly a hot war broke out. Furthermore a divided Germany had always represented a divided world at that time. At one side there was communism whereas on the other side there was capitalism.