Critical Analysis †Night of the Living Dead Essay

1968’s â€Å"Night of the Living Dead† is one of the most influential zombie movies of all time. Despite its extremely low budget the movie was a great success. I actually believe that the limited budget is what made the movie successful. Due to the fact that it was shot in black-and-white, it gave the film an unique look contributing to its style. In various instances during the movie it the movie looks like a documentary, which adds to the realism of the movie. But what makes the movies scary? The zombies are the main element of horror in Night of the Living Dead. The viewer is afraid of the threat the zombies represent. They carry the horror, hold our attention, instill dread and act as the prime motivator. During the 1960s, this movie really shocked its audiences with its gory violent scenes and twisted plot lines. The brutal scenes in the movie produce a type of â€Å"pain† on the viewer – the images of the vicious deaths allows the audience to envision what it would be like to be in that situation. So, when we view a scene like the eating of the flesh from the victims of the car explosion, we are reacting bodily to the actions of the zombies. Scenes such as that one feel and look real to the viewer contributing to the horror and truthfulness of the movie. 1. After decades of cinematic re-releases, the film was a financial success, grossing $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally. This fact shows how successful this movie really was. 2. The initial budget was $6,000 with the ten members of the production company investing $600 each for a share of the profits. When it was found that another $6,000 was required another ten investors were found but this was also soon found to be inadequate. Image Ten eventually raised approximately $114,000 for the budget. 3. â€Å"Night of the Living Dead† has been remade twice. The first remake was made in 1990 and it included more gore and a revised plot. The other remake was made in 2005. All of these facts contribute to the fact that â€Å"Night of the Living† dead is  one of the most influential zombie movies of all time. The director, Geroge A. Romero, completely revolutionized the horror film genre with this movie. â€Å"Night of the Living Dead† also redefined the word â€Å"zombie†. While the word â€Å"zombie† itself is never used, Romero’s film introduced the theme of zombies as reanimated, flesh-eating cannibals. [1] â€Å"Night of the Living Dead.† Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. . [1]

Rhodes Personal Statement Essay

Soaked in sweat, I sat deep in thought on the small mound of sand and broken rocks in northern Kenya, where 1.7 million years ago a desperately ill Homo erectus woman had died. Her death had entranced me for years. KNM-ER 1808 had died of Hypervitaminosis A, wherein an overdose of Vitamin A causes extensive hemorrhaging throughout the skeleton and excruciating pain. Yet a thick rind of diseased bone all over her skeleton—ossified blood clots—tells that 1808 lived for weeks, even months, immobilized by pain and in the middle of the African bush. As noted in The Wisdom of the Bones, by Walker and Shipman, that means that someone had cared for her, brought her water, food, and kept away predators. At 1.7 million years of age, 1808’s mere pile of bones is a breathtaking, poignant glimpse of how people have struggled with disease over the ages. Since that moment two summers ago, I’ve been fascinated by humans’ relationship with disease. I want to research paleopathology, the study of ancient diseases, in relation to human culture, specifically sex and gender. At first glance my education doesn’t quite reflect my passion for paleopathology. I am often asked how bachelor’s degrees in Women’s Studies and Anthropology coadunate. Women’s Studies and my related community service have honed my analytical skills, led me to the idea of studying sex and gender in relation to disease, and given my life and work a social conscience. I had participated in activism before college, yet my undergraduate experiences radically altered how I viewed the world and its potential for social change. Travel, conversation partnering, activism, and classes in Anthropology, African American, and Women’s Studies taught me to think critically about human culture and behavior. Meanwhile, gender-equity organizing and assaults in the local community showed me the need for activism against sexual assault. I’ve focused on prevention, fueled by a strong personal need to make the world a less painful place. Most inspiring was organizing the â€Å"Outrage Rally against Sexual Assault,† which attempted to raise awareness about and de-stigmatize assault in response to a series of assaults on the Mythic University campus. This rally had a positive impact in empowering survivors, evidenced by subsequent increased reporting of assault rates. Organizing has also taught me successful leadership and teamwork skills, applicable to academic and social settings.  I’ve learned the subtleties of integrating multiple perspectives into a shared vision and a success through networking with University administrators, Police Departments, nationally recognized activists, Congress persons, fellow students, and the general public. As head organizer for Mythic University’s 20xx â€Å"Take Back the Night,† attended by more than 500 people, I headed a seven-committee, twenty-person organizing team. In addition to recognition, as with the 20xx Service Award—Mythic University’s highest undergraduate award for good citizenry and academics—organizing has honed my critical thinking skills and prepared me for performing innovative and multidisciplinary graduate research. I want to study the relationship between human pathology and culture, looking specifically at disease in the context of sex and gender in non-modern European These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/ populations. My field of interest is new in paleopathology, so I will integrate paleoepidemiology and paleodemography—the studies of ancient disease processes and population dynamics—with gender and cultural studies and European history, contextualizing disease historically and culturally. My goal is to look at what health and disease can tell us macrocosmically and individually about social and sexual inequity, socioeconomic class, and gender-related quality of life. Research experiences, such as working as a research assistant in a craniofacial morphometrics lab, studying skulls, and doing field work in Pennsylvania, Kenya, the Orkney Islands, West Virginia, and South Dakota, have prepared me well for graduate school. I’ve conducted ethnographic, paleontological, demographic, archaeological, cultural, and osteological research. I am currently co-authoring an article on the implications of Forager’s mating and marriage practices for sociobiological theory, while working on a research paper on craniofacial morphology in Medieval Denmark. I also completed a senior thesis on Amerindian women’s culturally influenced reproductive health issues. With confidence, I want to proceed with graduate work at Oxford to gain a higher degree and greater research opportunities in the midst of British culture. My work this year at the Smithsonian  Institute’s National Museum of Natural History has galvanized and confirmed my devotion to paleopathology. An anthropological fantasy realized: I am surrounded by invaluable research opportunities and constant, stimulating dialogue with future colleagues, and vast and exotic collections including cave bear skulls, dinosaurs, and the renowned Terry skeletal Collection. Volunteer work cataloguing the Bab edh-Dra skeletal collection and independent research exploring metabolic diseases’ effects on the skull using CT imaging technology have taught me the reality of professional research. Concurrently, this year has allowed me to further realize my personal interests. I practice fine arts, read extensively, love to travel, and have a whirlwind tour of Western Europe planned for December. I am hiking and backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, playing rugby, running, and I am training my four-year-old horse for jumping and cross-country riding and competitions. I believe that my personal interests, experiences, and social conscience would contribute as much as my research skills to Oxford’s social and intellectual culture. Oxford offers me an opportunity to pursue a Master’s in European Archaeology while taking supplementary courses in pathology, anatomy, modern European History, and social and cultural anthropology. Equally, I could have research guidance from staff in Biological Anthropology and the Human Sciences program, where human culture, biology, and behavior in response to disease are being actively studied. At Oxford, I could nurture and share a unique set of social experiences, nurture and explore my research interests, and contribute an innovative, informative, and multidisciplinary new approach to my field. Ensconcing myself in British culture, intellectual environment, and vigorous research at Oxford is the chance of a lifetime. I hope to be able to seize it. These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/ Sample Rhodes Scholarship Personal Statement—Student #2 Personal Statement by Janet Lerner for the Rhodes Scholarship I have found my mentor, and I’d like to tell you who it is and how this has come about. I have not yet met him face-to-face, but he has already taught me how to begin  this essay with his words. Professor Anthony D. Nuttall, writing in his book Openings, tells us, â€Å"†¦All good openings are somehow naturally rooted, more or less remote, of an original creative act: in medias res, as against ‘In the beginning’.† Nuttall describes the importance of an opening by demonstrating the difference between the actual opening lines and the first sense of action, which will become the plot. The â€Å"original creative act† to which he refers applies as well to young scholars. I recognize now that I am in the process of becoming the scholar I will always be becoming. This process currently involves research that is the basis for my senior honors thesis: investigating two British poets’ incorporation of classical Greek and Roman mythology into their poetry. I have begun studying Geoffrey Chaucer and Alfred Lord Tennyson, both of whom make active use of myth in their works. The philosophy of intertextuality, a specific interest of Professor Nuttall’s, is apparent in his research on the influence of Roman and Greek classics on British poets, the very topic I have chosen for my honors thesis. While I am learning from reading Professor Nuttall’s books, specifically his A Common Sky: Philosophy and the Literary Imagination, the opportunity to work with him would inspire me to pursue further research in this field and enrich my understanding of literature and its critical theories. My interest in British poets and their use of classical literature evolves from a paper I presented at the 20xx Novus Et Antiquus Conference. I had the privilege of being selected as one of five undergraduates to attend this faculty conference, where I presented my work on classical mythology’s influence on the medieval author Geoffrey Chaucer’s poems The Knight’s Tale and The Parliament of Fowls. There Chaucer uses the Roman gods and goddesses to orchestrate the fates of the two female characters. Through the intervention of these deities, Chaucer shows compassion for women and grants mercy to both females. My experience as a college junior presenting a paper at a faculty conference proved gratifying on another level as well: I was pleased to receive guidance from the professors, and also to be complimented on my pronunciation of Middle English quotations. I came to Chaucer only after reading Chrà ©tien de Troyes’ Lancelot. In this  Arthurian romance, Chrà ©tien represents Lancelot as conflicted—the kind of chivalrous knight whom one expects to find only in myth, yet, in violation of the code of honor, desirous of his lord’s queen. I began thinking of the tales of the Arthurian knights as more than legendary—as potentially credible historical accounts. I wrote a paper on Gawain’s rhetoric as a means to elicit specific responses in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain’s rhetorical strategies and their manipulations ultimately led him to a These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/  deeper personal recognition and self-acceptance. This early exercise alerted me to strategies of language in the Middle Ages.  A post-graduate education at Oxford based on personal tutorials and independent research is precisely the type of program I now need to pursue. Through several independent study courses in my undergraduate curriculum, I have become even more self-motivated and have been gratified to discover that discussion between teacher and student has helped me develop my best work. Professor Nuttall is a Fellow of Oxford’s New College, the ideal place to continue my studies in medieval literature because it was built at the height of the medieval period, the era on which I plan to focus in my graduate study. I was pleased to discover that New College is also one of only four colleges that participate in the Oxford Access Scheme, a program that reaches out to inner-city students and encourages them to seek a higher education. This program provides all students with an equal opportunity to apply to a university as prestigious as Oxford. In participating in this program, New College seeks qualified students who may not have the socio-economic ability or confidence to apply to and attend Oxford. I would like to become involved in this program because I have worked with students in similar situations from the Boys and Girls Club near my hometown, and have found supporting these students to be very rewarding. My reasons for applying for a Rhodes Scholarship to work with Professor Nuttall have roots in a study I undertook in 20xx. While reading Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I found a single line in which the allegorical unicorn becomes a link between  the medieval era and the Renaissance. I became interested in the villain Sebastian’s professed disbelief in the unicorn, that imaginary animal symbolic of Jesus Christ in medieval bestiaries. My research on the historical symbolism of the unicorn in medieval literature led me to conclude that in rejecting the unicorn, Sebastian implies that he also rejects Christianity. An interesting aspect of The Tempest that I have not yet pursued is the masque, in which the Roman goddesses Iris, Ceres, and Juno descend upon the island in preparation for Miranda and Ferdinand’s wedding. My earlier interest in Shakespeare’s use of the allegorical unicorn will create a focus for study when combined with the masque of the Roman goddesses in The Tempest. Shakespeare’s integration of Christianity and classical mythology is yet another area I would like to explore with Professor Nuttall, for not only has he published on philosophy; he has also written Two Concepts of Allegory: A Study of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the Logic of Allegorical Expression. The adventure of Sir Gawain—which leads him to a deeper understanding of self—is not unlike the journey I have undertaken, a journey I hope will lead me to Oxford University, its Bodleian Library, and study with Anthony Nuttall and other mentors. Oxford will provide me the opportunity to learn directly from authorities in my field who will help guide me in my quest to become a scholar. Like Gawain, I am striving to realize my potential through my own adventure. These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/

Why Cigarette Smoking Should Be Banned

Cigarette smoking should be banned. Cigarette smoking is a dangerous habit that not only affects the user in a negative physical and psychological way but also endangers others around them. Would you play Russian roulette – A deadly game of chance involving a revolver and a single bullet– and then force others around you to participate? Cigarette smoking has detrimental effects on both the user and innocent bystanders effectively initiating a game of Russian roulette. Considering the dangers of cigarettes, banning them could potentially protect society from their dangerous effects.The physical effects of smoking are quite frightening and include a wide variety of diseases. These include but are not limited to: cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and a wide variety of cancers. A common outcome of the more serious tobacco related diseases is death. It is noted on the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) website that ‘More deaths are caused each year by tobacco than all deaths caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. (CDC – Fact Sheet – Tobacco-Related Mortality – Smoking & Tobacco Use, 2011) With all this evidence pointing to the physical dangers of cigarettes, why then do people continue choosing to engage in this behavior? Perhaps the psychological effects of cigarettes can account for the continuation of their use. Cigarettes can have not only a stimulating effect, but also a perceived calming effect and can also induce feelings of euphoria. Nicotine in tobacco causes these perceived effects and feelings.Nicotine is a psychoactive drug found in tobacco products, and it is this chemical that causes users to develop a dependency on cigarettes. One particular cause for alarm is taken from the CDC website. ‘Research suggests that nicotine may be as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol. ’ (CDC – Fact Shee t – Smoking Cessation – Smoking & Tobacco Use. 14 Nov. 2011) With this in mind, we now start to understand the psychological dangers of smoking cigarettes. The addiction compels the user to continue smoking.Having looked at the physical and psychological effects of smoking on the users, let us now take a look at how detrimental cigarette smoking is to non-smokers. Cigarette smoking is extremely dangerous to non smokers. Secondhand smoke is a mixture of side stream smoke — smoke from the end of a lighted cigarette—and mainstream smoke—smoke exhaled by a smoker. This secondhand smoke contains 250 known harmful chemicals of which 60 are known to cause cancer. This dangerous concoction of chemicals in the smoke puts those that have chosen not to smoke in harm’s way.According to the website of the American Cancer Society, each year, second hand smoke is responsible for ‘an estimated 46,000 deaths from heart disease’, â€Å"About 340 0 lung cancer deaths’, and ‘Between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in children’. (â€Å"Secondhand Smoke. â€Å", 14 Nov. 2011) The list carries on, but we can now see how cigarette smoking not only affects smokers, but non smokers too. As detrimental as cigarettes are to everyone’s health, there are still those that claim it is their right to be able to smoke.Opponents of cigarette banning claim that it is their civil right to choose to smoke and that society does not have the right to dictate what people do to their bodies, regardless of whether it is unhealthy for them or not. They claim that if the government bans cigarettes on the basis that it is harmful to one’s health, then they may as well ban other things that pose a health risk, like â€Å"junk food†. The problem with this argument is that while eating junk food does pose a health risk to the person eating it, there is no immediate health risk to the peopl e around them.Even governments have started to recognize the dangers of cigarettes by allocating smoke free zones where smoking is not allowed. Even though this is a step in the right direction, it still does not keep everyone safe from the dangers of cigarette smoking. By examining the all the information, it is easy to see that cigarette smoking is particularly dangerous on both physical and psychological levels while also needlessly endangering non-smokers. Could the banning of cigarettes potentially wrestle the revolver from the hands of the smoker and finally put an end to this dangerous game of Russian roulette?

The Role of Religious Beliefs in Promoting Social Conflict and War Research Paper

The Role of Religious Beliefs in Promoting Social Conflict and War - Research Paper Example The paper at hand analyzes how it happens and what often results in social conflicts as well as wars. Few religions or other such systems of beliefs cling on to their creeds and â€Å"dogmas,† without the slightest â€Å"compromise† with anything or anyone (Brahm n.pag). Religious dogmas play a major role in promoting conflicts. Almost every â€Å"religion† has different elements of â€Å"faith† systems which are meant to be â€Å"accepted† by its people, no matter what. Therefore, these people always tend to have an â€Å"extremist† approach and this acts as the root cause to all the problems (Brahm). According to Brahm, such type of people hold their religious views as the supreme one and have no respect for another religion or other people and this often â€Å"contributes† in arousing antagonism. Eric Brahm further says that this â€Å"escalates† the conflicts and brings in harmful consequences for all. The measures of â€Å"evangelism† with wrong approaches entail â€Å"conflicts† and persecutions. â€Å"Reli gious nationalism† is another element which one should not overlook (Brahm). Here, the national issues are articulated with the religion of the nation, which will entail in negative impacts more than positive ones (Brahm). Communalism is closely attached to this view. Communalism is a phenomenon, which comprises of various extremist approaches that are harmful both for the society as well as people. The every day havocs caused by communalism are evident from the news all around the world, where people follow communalism. Communalists say that a specific religious group have commonality with respect to their other socio-political needs too. This further creates sects and religion thus creates division among people. Such divisions, to a certain extent are considered good, as is the case for providing an identity for different people. However, when the identity issue crosses its bounds, antagonism rises and all types of complexities start to originate.

Financial Accounting Week 12 Course Project Assignment

Financial Accounting Week 12 Course Project - Assignment Example Only the operating sections deals with direct and indirect cash flows. To compare the income statement and the operations section, one needs to point out the difference in timing existing between the cash and income collections (Pratt, 2000). The comparison also highlights the timing difference between the cash payment and expenses. Large gap might show that the company is aggressive to recognize income, or the organization is spending a lot of money to maintain or buy assets, a fact that is not common in income statement. In direct method, the cash flows are listed in the operation part of cash flow statement. Cash flows arise due to transaction from client collection and cash payments made to employees, suppliers, and other. The section also records the cash payments for interest and income tax. The problem of using the direct method is that the organization fails to keep the information in the appropriate manner. For instance, organizations that use the accrual accounting lump the credit and cash sales together (Kimmel, Weygandt & Kieso, 2011). They make special provision in tracking their cash sales separately. Direct method is not commonly used in companies compared to indirect method. The direct method adds the cash flows inside and outside the business in every operations areas; financing, operations, and investment. The method is easy to understand but it does not help much, it only tells the customer what he already knows. The direct method is normally used in commonwealth countries. Conversely, in indirect methods, one needs to adjust the net income to change it to cash basis from accrual basis. The method is common and begins with the net profit and then changes accordingly the non-cash items balance, balance sheet items, and accounts receivables. The method is helpful to the customer when used together with the balance sheet and the income statement. They also need one to add again the non-cash expenses like amortization, depreciation, loss

Considiring Censorship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Considiring Censorship - Essay Example The communicative content that is usually censored is â€Å"sexual content, swearing, blasphemy, drug references, political content, and violence† (Inglis, 2006, 565). Censorship is good because it is done for the welfare of society as a whole. Television, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines, journals, novels, books, telephones and many other modes of communication are evaluated in terms of any content that is censorable. The content that is censored is restricted to reach to general public. In our daily lives, we can see various examples where the communicative content is censored on the basis of its harmful effects on the receivers of messages. The motives of censorship are good and this is done for the betterment of masses. On television, we can see various programs that we like. For example, we like to see movies. Sometimes, in movies abusive language or slangs are employed. In order to censor those slangs or abusive language, the abusive content is stopped to reach to general public. You must have heard the speech that is cut in between on the basis of its containing abusive content and in place of the actual word, we listen a tone. The tone indicates that the word was not worth listening to. Whenever, we listen to the tone, we at once identify that some bad talk is stopped. This censor of abusive words is a type of moral wellbeing of the masses and by this people are stopped to make use of abusive words in their daily lives. In wrestling programs, the sound of tone is extensively used when wrestlers talk to one another before the audience. They are not only challenging one another but also abuse each other and use colloquial expressions that are injurious for the listeners. The wrestling of WWE is well liked because of many heroes of the wrestling like John Cena and Shawn Michael. In this wrestling program, every other day, the wrestlers’ words are censored on the basis

IAS 18 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

IAS 18 - Assignment Example According to IAS 18, revenue is simply the gross inflow of financial benefits (receivables, cash, and other assets) emanating from the normal operating activities of a business (like sales of services, sales of goods, royalties, dividends and interest) (Elliott & Elliott 2013 ). Accordingly, an exchange for services or goods of a comparable value and nature is not considered as a transaction that yields revenue. Though, exchanges for dissimilar goods and services are considered as revenue generation. Question Two IAS 18 outlines the underpinning principles for the recognition criteria for Revenue in three different parts. Identify each of the three parts and discuss the recognition criteria for each part. Basing on the above statement, there is a dissimilar approach taken to the realization or recognition of revenue particularly from the services that have been provided ( Holt, Tweedie, & Richard 2013). In short, instead of realizing the revenue at one point such as the sale of goods, it should be realized gradually. According to IAS 18, in order to estimate the outcome of a transaction reliably the following conditions are met: IAS 18 indicates the need to measure revenue at the fair value of the consideration received (Greuning 2001). However, in the case where the consideration or payment is deferred, the arrangement will constitute the substance of the transaction and a financing transaction. In such situations, the amount receivable is classified into: The key challenges associated with the implementing of IAS 18 Revenue is that its principles for revenue recognition are quite broad. In addition, under IAS 18, there is clarity on how to recognize revenue. Professional bodies have introduced the principle of IFRS 15 ( Bragg 2011). With this principle, a business recognizes revenue to show the transfer of services or goods to clients. In addition, it reflects the payment to

National Park Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

National Park - Assignment Example To that effect, the paper will discuss the geologic details of the location of the Great Basin. Pizarro (115) shares the evidence that the Great Basin National Park is the only national park in the entire state of Nevada and does not charge entrance fees. However, the tours in the caves can cost up to $10 for every individual. The Great Basin National Park also includes the Mojave Desert together with the Death Valley. The Great Basin National Park is often accessed via the Nevada State Route 488 that is connected to the U.S Routes 6 as well as 50. The park gets its name from dry along with mountainous region between the Wasatch Mountains and Sierra Nevada. The park covers a total of 31,230 hectares (Baker 14) Topography is the first indicator of geology (Decelles 106). The Great Basin National Park has been inhabited by humans for a very long time. The Great Basin is among the most geologically young and tectonically active areas in North America. The generally rugged and mountainous landscape of this region provides evidence continuing mountain-building. The interplay between tectonics and topography is shown in the evolution of the Great Basin (Jones, Farmer, and Unruh, 1409). Oligocene-ash flow tuffs erupted from the calderas and flowed westward and form what is now the Great Basin (Faulds, Henry, Hinz, 505-6). Most of the rocks at the Great Basin were formed during the Cambrian, when the area was situated at the edge of the continental landmass known as the Laurentia. Collette, Gass, and Hagadorn (442) argue that the Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era. It lasted from 540 to about 485 million years. The period is associated with a high amount of lagerstatte sedimentary deposits. The rocks at Great Basin National Park include the Cambrian strata. As the Paleozoic era progressed, various

Book review on Olaudah Equiano Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book review on Olaudah Equiano - Research Paper Example One of Equiano’s masters and a captain in a British trade ship, Henry Pascal, changed Equiano’s name to Gustavus Vassa. This is a name he used his entire life, with an exception of the autobiography’s publishing. Equiano Olaudah travelled extensively during his service to Pascal and succeeding masters. For instance, he visited Holland, England, Gibraltar, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Caribbean, Georgia, South Carolina and the Pennsylvania. After his purchase from Pascal by a Quaker merchant, Robert King, Equiano’s life gradually took a turn. He worked as Mr. King’s clerk and also had the opportunity to explore his minor trades, which enabled him to save some money and later buy his freedom in the year 1766. In the subsequent year, Equiano Olaudah settled down in England where he attended school and worked for Dr. Charles Irving, a prominent scientist, as an assistant. In the year 1792, Equiano married a lady known as Susanna Cullen, with whom they had two daughters before his death in 1797. Equiano’s autobiography is rather intriguing owing to its narrative approach. He begins the book by describing the ordinary life he used to live with his family in Africa, prior to his kidnap. He indicates that he was the last son, hence his mother’s favourite child and irrespective of the large size of his family they had a home and sufficient food. Equiano’s greatest worry was his slight failure in warrior classes, a clear sign of the carefree life he had as a typical young African male. At the tender age of eleven, he heard of rumours that malicious people were kidnapping young children and selling them off as slaves. Equiano remembers climbing trees and looking around to see if these people would come to get him or his siblings. As fate would have it, Equiano, his brother and sister were taken away in the dark of night when his parents were not around. This marked the drastic and change in his life, especially after being separated from his brother and sister. The emotional upheaval caused by the situation is described by the author’s own words that â€Å"She was torn from me and immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of distraction not to be described. I cried and grieved continually, and for several days I did not eat anything but what they forced into my mouth† (54). On reaching a slave market, Equiano got sold and accompanied his new handler to a house where other people spoke his native language, a form of consolation, albeit little given the critical situation. Owing to his dedication to work, Equiano was considered to be the best slave in the house. However, his life changed soon after, when he was loaded into a ship with other slaves with no knowledge of what would happen next. He feigned fainting when being shoved into the ship with the hope of being left behind, to no avail. Equiano had to work as soon as he got into the Virginia bound ship and he remembers how bad the conditions were in the ship, to the extent of most slaves committing suicide by jumping overboard. Equiano spent some little amount of time in a Virginia farm but he was then taken back on the British slave ships and Trade Vessels serving the captains as a trusted slave. It was in the course of sailing, that he was given the name Gustavas Vassa, by Captain Pascal (Equiano 26). When still serving under Captain Pascal, Equiano travelled to many

Globalization and the United States Military Policy Essay

Globalization and the United States Military Policy - Essay Example The US military troop has also observed same lines of objectives. The varied policy of the US government in controlling and setting guideline for operation has been dealt differently by different leaders. Some of the policies have undergone criticism, while some have been appreciated, in context of global as well as the sate framework. The impact of US military troops on globalization will not provide much help to revive its dominant nature and reflect its strength. US Military policy: Off late US military is away from campaigns and battles and have indulged in peace enforcement. The preponderance of US military seems to degrade in matters of exercising powers with the arsenals like missile and the Nuclear weapons. The significance of the United States as a military power seems to dwindle. The employment of the US forces is used in areas to augment social integration, in handling events of natural disaster. American military is experiencing a new era in the advent of globalization. S ignificant changes in the mission of US military have been observed with change attitudes. The change in US policy of military administration was observed in the Weinberger- Powell doctrine in 1984. The doctrine specified circumstances where the US forces are to be deployed. The main objective of the doctrine was to prevent the catastrophe which occurred in Vietnam. It specified that Americans should indulge in fight or war only at times when the countries interest is at its stake. The missions should been undertaken only if it has similar political and military objectives. The deployment should only be done when all the measures undertaken have failed. (Preble, 2011)The Weinberger- Powell doctrine seems to vanish with the beginning of the Bush era in The United States. George Bush deployed The US forces in the northern Iraq and Somalia and also carried air attack in parts of Iraq. The policy of US president Bill Clinton was also transparent. His doctrine signified the priority towa rds avoidance of any casualty and the use of force to cause absolute minimal damage. However the temptation to put the strongest military force of the world into action was also hardly resisted by him. Under his regime attacks against Iraq for punishing Saddam Husain was also carried out. Besides, Serbia was also subjected to daily bombings by the US military force. Clinton government was however strategic in the use of forces. Forces were deployed in specific targets which had lesser probability of causing bloodshed and slaughter, and had limited capability to retaliate. A fair distinction was drawn between the terms war and attacks in the backdrops of national sacrifice. US military and globalization: With Globalization creeping in and the world experiencing an open economy, America still persuades to showcase its global power. America aims to set up an international order with openness as its primary characteristics. The emergence of an open world will create opportunities for ne w military requirements. The proper functioning of the open economy will require rules to be framed. United States aims to impart discipline and cohesion to the system. The rules framed by the US government needs to be maintained by the nations and they have to abide by the fundamental economic importance of the global market. President Clinton had the view that without the presence

Design-ICT Modelling CW Essay Example for Free

Design-ICT Modelling CW Essay I have completed my analysis of the current system; therefore I will be interviewing, observing and identifying the user requirements. In addition, the success criteria have been successfully accomplished. These steps will help me with the design of my new system before it is implemented: Worksheets: Most of the system will be based around worksheets. Here is a list of the ones that I will produce. * Main Menu This will be the menu giving access to all the worksheets stored in the system. * Ordering- This worksheet will be the most frequently used one because it is where customers choose the halls, the decorators, caterers, music artists, venues, bars. They want to buy as well as give their personal details and available budget. This worksheet will also give the individual costs of each item available for purchase and allow calculations to be made by the spreadsheet based on the products that are chosen. * Venues This will display details of all the different venues available that are available in different areas in London * Decorators- This will display details of all the different decorating companies available with the different designs available and at the different prices. * Caterers This will display details of all the different caterers company available with what food types are available. * Music Artist- This will display details of the different music artist available and the types of music they play and how much they will charge. * Drinks (Bar)- This will display details of all the different the drink the bar sells and how much they will cost. Graphs and charts: The new system will be used to display the results of the calculations it makes in an easy-to-read format. This is why graphs and charts will need to be made. They will be used to show the number of bookings in every month and the amount spent on refurbishing the venues and the bars. These will be used to give the profits made by the business every month so they know how they are progressing as a business. Macros: The macros will be used to navigate between different worksheets can be done faster if buttons are formed within every worksheet. These buttons will be the names of every worksheet so the user can click on the name of the worksheet to open it up instantly without having to open up a list of all worksheets as they will already be listed. Algorithms: Many calculations need to be made by the spreadsheet and this is only possible when formulae are programmed into cells. Formulae are needed because without them, the staff would need to make every calculation themselves which would take a lot of time. Therefore, formulae are the solution to this problem as they work out the calculations. Testing: Once the new spreadsheet system has been made and everyone is pleased with the worksheets, graphs, macros and formulae created, I will need to test my new system in order to check whether it accomplishes all the success criteria given. User documentation: When the new spreadsheet system has been implemented, successfully tested and I am sure that it works, I will need to create a user guide that will make it easier for the staff at JJ party planners to use the new system. The user guide will include instructions on how to program certain cells with formulae for making calculations and how to select items and change them according to a given budget. It will also come with a technical guide to help with troubleshooting in case the users face technical difficulties with the system. Evaluation: The last thing I will do will be to evaluate the system by checking how it works according to my specifications. Inputs These are the inputs that need to be put into the system for it to work: * Customers name, date of birth, address and contact number * Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist wanted , budget * Date of booking Processes The system should be able to produce the outputs by carrying out the following processes: * Search for the Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist available * Calculate total prices and recalculate when the booking is changed * Increasing the quantity of the Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist available * Collecting information and calculating the profits based on the number of sales and costs. Outputs The system should be able toproduce a number of outputs from this information: * An invoice for every sale which the company keeps. This invoice should give the name of the customer, the customers contact number or address and the bookings made and total price of the booking sold as well as the date of the sale. * A receipt after a booking is made to give to the customer. * Graphs showing profit made at different times so my client is aware of how the business is progressing. * Reports showing models that have been newly bought venues or contract with new decorator, caterer and music artists

Payroll System Essay Example for Free

Payroll System Essay Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Nowadays all establishment are becoming modernized, they use modern technologies to make their transaction fast, easy, and accurate in order to avoid waste of time and for the sake of safety and security. It also helps human to solve and understand complex problem and analysis such us the computational need of humans. Especially to business establishment or corporation processing enormous data and complex transaction. Payroll is an example of a complex transaction because it is a critical business operation dealing with numerous accounts and produce plenty and confidential files. Payroll is encompasses every employee of a company who receives a regular wages or other compensation due to each. In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons. From an accounting perspective, payroll is crucial because payroll and payroll taxes considerably affect the net income of most companies and they are subject to laws and regulations (e.g. in the US payroll is subject to federal and state regulations). From an ethics in business viewpoint payroll is a critical department as employees are responsive to payroll errors and irregularities: good employee morale requires payroll to be paid timely and accurately. The primary mission of the payroll department is to ensure that all employees are paid accurately and timely with the correct withholdings and deductions, and to ensure the withholdings and deductions are remitted in a timely manner. This includes salary payments, tax withholdings, and deductions from a paycheck. Companies typically generate their payrolls at regular intervals, for the benefit of regular income to their employees. The regularity of the intervals varies from company to company, and sometimes between job grades within a given company. Common payroll frequencies include: daily, weekly, bi- weekly (once every two weeks), semi-monthly (twice per month), and to a somewhat lesser extent, monthly. Less common payroll frequencies include: 4-weekly (13 times per year), bi-monthly (once every two months), quarterly  (ones every 13 weeks), semi-annually (twice per year), and annually. Payroll Systems reduces employer costs, liability, and administrative burden through integrated solutions. Advantages include: Flexible and comprehensive solutions that organize, integrate, and simplify complex business processes Liability reduction through diligent compliance systems, support, and oversight Accurate and reliable processing and reporting Secure data management and transactions Applying manual procedure on a Payroll transaction involving the vast beat answer in that problem would be computer because computers can simulate enormous data and can process complex transaction in a fast and efficient way. It can generate numerous accounts and data accurately. A Computerized Payroll System will not only provide accurate calculation and fast process of Payroll transaction but it will secure data through security implementation and accordingly arrange files provided by a well-designed database that will produce a paperless environment. The municipality of Sta. Josefa was created on March 1, 1965 under Republic Act. No. 1515. The municipality, as a political and corporate body, is mandated to ensure and support the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology, encourage and support the development of appropriate and self- reliant and technological capabilities, improve public morals, enhance economic prosperity and social justice, maintain peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of its people. Sta. Josefa’s primary vision is to grow as a prosperous and progressive agri-industrial municipality wherein people live peacefully in a just-clean and ecologically balance and God-loving community. Her mission is to promote genuine and active peoples participation in local development and governance geared towards equitable and stable economic growth based on agri-industrialization, accessible service delivery and sustainable environmental management. The municipality maintained three types of fund, namely; General Fund, Special Education fund, and Trust Fund. The general fund includes the economic enterprises which the municipality runs, such as  the Farm Level Grain Center (FLGC), the Sta. Josefa Water Development System (SJWDS), the Motorpool Operations and the utilization of the 20% Municipal Development Fund. Presently, Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sta. Josefa, Agusan Del Sur is practicing the manual process on their Payroll System. It has separate manual process for the Regular Employees and J.O (Job-Order) employees. The total number of employees in the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sta. Josefa, Agusan Del Sur is 90 regular employees and 50 job-order employees. Statement of the Problems 1. Time consuming process of payroll preparation The LGU of Sta. Joefa still using the manual method of payroll process. A lot of jobs are assigned to the payroll maker and accounting clerk, with cause’s inconvenience to their services. In this method, it will need more time and manpower to complete the payroll of each employee. 2. Laborious payroll process Nobody could admit the inescapable fact that what makes the manual procedure take a long time to finish the task is due to the many steps and processes to undergo. There is the collection of data such as DTR, REMITTANCES, and individual manual calculation of payroll. Individual data is transferred through sheets, encoding and double checking after calculating. All this process requires labor and effort to complete the task. 3. Misposting and understating of employee’s data The logical process of manual procedure result to too much time consumption. It often times result in misposting and understating of each employees data of plenty of files that is hard to accommodate. Review of Related Literature Payroll System Development and Integration. The client provides Employee Benefits Consulting, Human Resource Services, Benefits Administration, and Payroll, Property and Casualty and other services for client companies, enabling them to focus on their core businesses. The Challenge The client had payroll as part of their vast array of services, but wanted to provide clients with a single system of entry to manage and process payroll data.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We needed to make a truly payroll integrated product from two separate systems with different programming, different databases and different technologies,† said the company’s Director of IT. â€Å"It was critical to have the solution developed for us in a timely manner in order to maximize the benefits for our valued clients.† The new solution would have to integrate a recently acquired nationally recognized payroll application — ExecuPay — with the client’s already already-established Web-based human resources and based a benefits system, AccessHR. The solution needed to share data between the two databases of each product as well as provide web based screens to expose all the payroll functionality to the web-based users. All of this needed to be accomplished behind behind-the-scenes, without any loss of existing thought information or any complications for legacy users of the legacy HR benefits system, during or after integration. â€Å"Our biggest challenge was that we specialize in HR benefits administration and consulting, not in software development,† the Director of IT said. â€Å"We chose Arris because the company had payment,† insurance industry experience with some of their other clients.† The Solution Arris identified the detailed requirements for the payroll functionality by analyzing the ExecuPay client application and then reverse engineering it to seamlessly integrate a single environment reverse-engineering that would give the client the desired single point of access.

Guerrilla Wafare Of Shivaji

Guerrilla Wafare Of Shivaji 106. This paper has put forward an argument that little has changed since the times of Kaultiya and Sun Tzu . Shivaji borrowed heavily from Kautilya , while Mao and Che have quoted Sun Tzu in detail. The only aspect that has been added to the modern day guerrilla war is religious fanaticism. Comparison 107. Guerrilla warfare as conducted by Shivaji , Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara will be compared on basis of the following aspects:- (a) Ideology. (b) Violent Means. (c) Non violent Means. 49 (d) Impact and Result. Ideology 108. Shivaji. Shivaji led the freedom struggle of the Marathas against Muslim rule in Deccan. His ideology was to establish Hindavi Swarajya and subsequent expansion of the Maratha Empire. This was partly responsible for re-establishment of Hindu rule and its re-emergent assertiveness throughout the mainland of present day India after being ruled and dominated by various Muslim dynasties for several centuries. The ideology of Hindavi Swarajya was in part the inspiration that propelled the succeeding generation of Marathas to establish independent kingdom in India prior to their eventual defeat by the British. He succeeded in establishing control of a well-defended segment of the present state of Maharastra in western India, during his lifetime. The prevalent practices of treating women as war booty, destruction of religious monuments, slavery and forceful religious conversions were firmly opposed under his administration. Shivaji was a religious Hindu, but showed respect toward other religions. Shivaji innovated rules of military engagement of that era. He pioneered Ganimi Kava (in Marathi), or guerrilla tactics, which leveraged strategic factors like demographics, speed, surprise and focused attack to defeat his bigger and more powerful enemies. 109. Mao tse Tung. Maos ideology was greatly influenced by Leninism, Marxism and Trotskyism. But soon he developed his own blend of communism , widely known as Maoism. Some components of Maoism are as follows:- 50 (a) Peoples War. The armed branch of the party must not be distinct from the masses. To conduct a successful revolution the needs and demands of the masses must be the most important issues. (b) New Democracy. In backward countries, socialism cannot be introduced before the country has gone through a period in which the material conditions are improved. This cannot be done by the bourgeoisie, as its progressive character is long since replaced by a regressive character. (c) Contradictions as the most important feature of society. Society is dominated of a wide range of contradictions. As these are different of nature, they must also be handled in different ways. The most important divide is the divide between contradictions among the masses and contradictions between the masses and their enemies. Also the socialist institutions are plagued with contradictions, and these contradictions must not be suppressed as they were during Stalins era. (d) Cultural revolution. Bourgeois ideology is not wiped out by the revolution; the class-struggle continues, and even intensifies, during socialism. Therefore an instant struggle against these ideologies and their social roots must be conducted. 110. Che Guevara. Che widely quoted Mao and Sun Tzu. He was highly impressed by Maos insurrection and his rise to power. Che propounded his ideology 51 known as Guevarism . His ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the United States and has fallen out of favour with its citizens. Guevara talked about how constant guerrilla warfare taking place in non-urban areas can overcome leaders. He introduced three points that are representative of his ideology as a whole, that the people can win with proper organization against a nations army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. 111. He had a dedication to foco techniques, also known as focalism (or foquismo in Spanish): vanguardism by small armed units, frequently in place of established communist parties, initially launching attacks from rural areas to mobilize unrest into a popular front against a sitting regime. Despite differences in approachemphasizing guerrilla leadership and audacious raids that engender general uprising, rather than consolidating political power in military strongholds before expanding to new onesChe Guevara took great inspiration from the Maoist notion of protracted peopleHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protracted_peoples_warHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protracted_peoples_wars war Violent Means 112. Shivaji. The times in which Shivaji lived were extremely harsh and trying ones. It was a period when Mughals , Adilshah of Bijapur, Qutubshah of Golconda and Nizamshah of Ahmednagar were at the peak of their power. Internecine conflicts between these powers were always bloody and violent. Shivaji established his 52 kingdom in this period. He had to fight very many bloody battles i.e. Battle of Purandar , Battle of Sinhagarh, Killing of Afzal Khan, Rout of Shahistakhan etc. He always tried to resolve issues as less bloodshed as possible. 113. Mao tse Tung. Mao tse Tung led the insurrection of his people of his people by propounding Communism and established an everlasting communist rule in China. He started as an urban revolutionary first, but soon understood that real power lied with the peasants and gave a rural shade to his revolution. He was ruthless in dealing with the Koumingtang and also the Japanese. His use of violence was at times to the extent of being a sadist. Mao advanced further strategy and tactics of direct action by combining political and military strategy and war and revolutionary means. His long-range strategy, outlined in his essay On Contradictions, is based on a general proposition that change is determined by contradictions and conflicts. Of particular interest in this regard is Maos utilization of the Chinese peasantry and the Peoples Liberation Army in accomplishing the Communist revolutionary victory in China and in structuring post-revolutionary society. 114. Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a ruthless revolutionary who executed hundreds. He argued in his writings and speeches that hatred is good because it, transforms us into effective, violent, selective, and cold killing machines. He said , I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ. I fight for the things I believe in, with all the weapons at my disposal and try to leave the other man dead so that I dont get nailed to a cross or any other 53 place. The consequences of building violent, selective, and cold killing machines is that these means lead to tragic ends that continue the cycle of violence and bloodshed. One example took place in the early morning hours of July 13, 1994 just six miles from HavanaHYPERLINK http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/Cuba11436.htmHYPERLINK http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/Cuba11436.htms sea wall, the Malecon, out in the ocean a tug-boat with more than 71 Cubans trying to head for sanctuary were attacked. These victims were met by other tugboats captained by Che, who used high pressure hoses to knock these refugees overboard into the sea and later rammed and sank the boat drowning 41 passengers. 21 of the dead were women and children. Che said in the UN General Assembly in 1964, HYPERLINK http://www.patriagrande.net/cuba/ernesto.che.guevara/discursos/19641211a.htmWe must say here what is a known truth, which we have always expressed before the world: firing squad executions, yes, we have executed; we are executing and we will continue to execute as long as is necessary. Our struggle is a struggle to the death.HYPERLINK http://www.patriagrande.net/cuba/ernesto.che.guevara/discursos/19641211a.htm Non violent Means. 115. Shivaji was the biggest proponent of non violent means amongst the three. He tried to avoid combat as long as the ends were being met by negotiations and guile. But one must not consider him weak due this practice of his. Whereas Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara are little known to have employed non violent means. Impact and Result 116. Shivaji had a far reaching impact on the psyche of India as a nation , he promoted the sense of independence from the Muslim rulers amongst several rulers of South India , Rajputs and Punjab. He was able to establish a free Maratha 54 kingdom in the Muslim dominated politics of his times. This kingdom was further expanded till Delhi by the Peshwas. 117. Mao established the Communist rule in China, which still exists , by ousting Chiang Kai Sheks Koumintang. Che Guevara was the romantic guerrilla, who helped Fidel Castro in taking over Cuba from Batista, but he is more remembered after his death. Relevance in Modern Times 118. The precepts propounded by Shivaji and theorised by Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara are relevant in the modern times. The new guerrilla, terrorists, are making full use of the theories laid by these three. Therefore to counter these threats, government have forces also have to resort to guerrilla warfare. 55 CHAPTER VIII CONCLUSION Insurrection by means of guerrilla bands is the true method of warfare for all nations desirous of emancipating themselves from a foreign yoke à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is invincible, indestructible. Giuseppe Mazzini 119. The leaders discussed in the paper are all of them charismatic characters. The aim was to illustrate as to how they adapted their guerrilla theories to their particular terrain and situation and developed new ideas as the struggle continued. An objective analysis of Shivaji, Mao tse Tung and Che Guevara proves that there was very little difference in the way they fought their war. Following conclusions are evident:- (a) They were all strong proponents of guerrilla warfare, due to the inherent asymmetry between them and their adversaries. (b) They were able to channelize the masses, so important for the revolution. (c) The principles of war employed by them are important today as armed conflict between belligerents is becoming asymmetric in nature day by day. 56 120. History shows that nineteenth-century guerrilla wars invariably failed to achieve their objectives except with the support of the regular army, domestic or foreign. A powerful impetus was given to guerrilla war after 1945 with the disintegration of colonial empires. The colonial powers no longer had the will to fight and even if the guerrillas were militarily ineffective, to combat them became so costly, that the imperial power had to withdraw. Guerrilla wars against domestic leaders have succeeded.

Speech :: essays research papers

Hello ladies and gentlemen my name is BLANK and I am here because I am a risk taker. Have you ever heard the expression â€Å"if they jumped off a bridge would you too?† My answer was a nervous â€Å"yes† to a free-fall jump off a bridge. This decision was a life changing one. It was a hot and humid day and my friends and I were out cycling for a few hours to fill in time. After a while we reached a foot bridge that was suspended over water. We all stopped before it. Suddenly my best friend turned around and said â€Å"I dare you to jump off the bridge.† Not to say anything, but I have a huge fear of heights. I have had it since when I went for a short, noisy and scary flight in a light aircraft when I was five. I have problems just going up in an elevator let alone jumping off a bridge. I could see other people jumping off and screaming while they fell towards the water. The noise from the screams was making it worse for me as it was causing my stomach to tighten and making me feel sick. So I decided to take the easy way out of this situation without embarrassing myself in front of my friends. â€Å"Yes, ok† I said nervously. â€Å"But, only if you jump first.† I added. He said â€Å"fine† then got off his bike and put it down and said to look after it. He then made his way to the side of the bridge and stood up on the rail. He waved to us and then he just jumped. No fear or hesitation. He just jumped! I was amazed and then I hear a splash. Oh no! So much for the easy way out of this situation. I had assumed that he would decline and it would be left at that. We watched him swim back to the shore and then he went out of sight. I knew it was my turn next. A few minutes later he reappeared triumphantly and announced that it was my turn to jump now that he had completed his end of the dare. With the spotlight on me and the pressure building as my friends cheered me on I decided that there was no way out and that it was time to face my fears and conquer them.

Abortion :: abortion argumentative persuasive argument

Abortion A couple decades ago, when abortion was illegal, thousands of women died because they did not want to bear an infant and attempted to terminate the child's life by themselves or with an unprofessional approach. After 1973's Supreme Court decision, which allowed women to have the choice to abortion, thousands of women were saved. Abortion can save thousands of lives of women and thus, should remain legal in the United States. Imagine you have a balance beam. On one side you have the physical life of an infant and on the other you have the mental and emotional life of a mother and her unwanted child. Which side can we, as civil humans, claim as more valuable? Up to this current day, abortion has become an exigent issue that faces everyone nationwide. As a moral and ethical issue, abortion is a dilemma for society. Abortion was illegal before the 1973 Supreme Court decision in the trial of Roe v. Wade, but now that abortion is legitimate, women have the freedom and the choice to live their life the way they want to. Albeit, abortion is criticized by religious sects in America and some of the public, the practice of abortion should remain legal in the U.S. because it allows a woman to choose her destiny and prevents unwanted children. Definitions are essential to define in this issue. Abortion is the forcible removal of a developing baby from the womb of his or her mother, using surgical, mechanical, or chemical means. Medical definition holds that abortion is any termination of pregnancy before 20 weeks. Medically defined, abortion is the "end of a pregnancy before viability." Therapeutic abortion is the termination of pregnancy via the intervention of a physician through surgery or the use of RU-486 or some other medications. Conception is a synonym for fertilization or creation. An embryo is a stage of prenatal mammalian development which extends from 2 to 8 weeks. Fertilization is the penetration of an ovum by a single sperm. A fetus is a stage of prenatal mammalian development which extends from 9 weeks after fertilization. Miscarriage is the interruption of pregnancy prior to the 7th month, usually used to refer to an expulsion of the fetus which starts without being induced by medical intervention. About a quarter of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage. An ovum is the mature sex cell generated by females in an ovary.

The Empress Theodora and Justinian Essay -- World History

The Empress Theodora and Justinian The birth of an eastern circus woman attracted no attention at all in mid-millennium year 500. No one could ever imagine that this baby would grow up to be one of the most remarkable women in history of the World. She was the daughter of the bear keeper, a public performer,wife of Justinian, Empress of the Byzantine Empire and a natural beauty whose name became the one name in the voluminous annals of the Byzantine empire known to almost everyone; Theodora. Once the former show girl settled down to respectable married life, she touched every branch of life in the Empire. She had her finger on everything including military campaigns, architectural developments, and government policy and law reforms. With her intelligence and charm and her indomitable willpower she became the backbone of Justinian by being the partner in power. Her supremacy and authority over Justinian and her role in the empire made her a significant woman in the history and the empress of one of the great civilizati ons of the world. She brought Justinian a stabilizing influence and helped him shaped his policies and became the foreground of every picture of the period. For all the long series of masterful empresses none is as astonishing and stunning as the consort of Justinian. This essay will analyze the dynamic of the marriage between Justinian and Theodora and it will argue the importance of this marriage for the strength of the Byzantine Empire. In both Roman and Byzantine Empire, chariot racing was very popular and there were well developed associations of sports fans. There were four major factions of chariot racing and the color of the uniform represented the favorite racing team. Two major groups in this era were ... ...s from the University of British Columbia and it gives a general sketch of the relationship between Justinian and Theodora .It summaries the general events and gives enough information about main incidents. * Ure, P.N. 1951. Justinian and His Age. Boston: Penguin Books The book gives valuable information about Justinian and his age. It covers Justinian's life, his reforms and every action he took. It gives information about the relationship between Justinian and Theodora and its effects on the Empire. It gives a vivid picture of the Byzantine Empire in Justinian's age. The writer of the book also included the writings of some important scholars such as J.B Bury, Norman Baynes and Gibbon's. However the writer of this book did not live to see it print it is a fact that he wrote a great book full of information, giving the reader detailed sketch of Justinian's Age.

Mass Customization Strategy in Global Supply

Master of International Business Administration 12 Mass Customization International Supply Chain Management Yuliya Samokhina, Olga Baranova, Yuliya Pronkina, Alexander Manzhosov Content The basic concepts of mass customization. Principles and goals. (by Yulia Samokhina) Introduction3 Mass Customization: main definitions3 Evolution of mass customization†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Mass customization strategies: advantages and disadvantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Mass customization as a process†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Conclusion8 Postponement strategies (by Olga Baranova) What is postponement? Postponement typology based on value chain activity9 Benefits of using postponement strat egy13 Critical success factors and ideal candidate for postponement strategy14 Modular concepts (by Yulia Pronkina) Definition of modules in the framework of global supply chain management15 Types of modularity18 Benefits and drawbacks of modularity. Requirements for implication of the concept modularity19 Modularization in automotive industry (Volkswagen’s modular strategy) 21 Shared platform strategies (by Alexander Manzhosov) Introduction23 Platform concept 24 The reasons of implementing platforms25Advantages and disadvantages of implementing shared platform strategies26 Shared platform strategies 28 Volkswagen Group. MQB strategy 29 Conclusion29 References The basic concepts of mass customization. Principles and goals. By Yuliya Samokhina Introduction Today, people live in the world with developing technologies, where everyone wants to be distinguished. Companies compete with other similar firms, because they want to attract customers as much as possible. Mass customizati on can satisfy customers’ demand to help them buy products with necessary characteristics.Previously, mass production systems can’t be sufficient for manufacturer and consumers. However, mass customization decided this problem to create comfortable conditions for all to provide individual product. For example, nowadays retailers don’t want to have more collections per season, but they want to possess more styles within the season. Companies produce new lines of clothes to their shops every four to six weeks. H&M and Zara have increased production to use computer technology.  «Zara uses data from its 426 stores to spot new trends, and offers 10,000 new products a year.TopShop sells as many as 30 pairs of knickers a minute, 6,000 pairs of jeans a day and 35,000 pairs of shoes every week ». Why it occurs? The answer is very simple: supply chain in mass customization business model has to be flexible and responsive to consumer demand. Main issues will be conside red in the essay below. Mass Customization: main definitions Usually, mass customization requires very advanced and flexible network, because the original purpose of mass customization is adapting one-to-one. Now, everyone can make products by themselves.Here, I want to give more successful definitions of Mass Customization:  «Mass customization is not a pure but a hybrid manufacturing concept, which joins the efficiency of operations and differentiation by providing highly value added products ».  «Mass customization refers to a customer co-design process of products and services, which meet the needs of each individual customer with regard to certain product features. All operations are performed within a fixed solution space, characterized by stable but still flexible and responsive processes. As a result, the costs associated with customization allow for a rice level that does not imply a switch in an upper market segment ». (Piller 2005c, p. 315; emphasis in original). Thus, now each buyer can acquire any goods, but the price for it will be higher. Commonly, it isn’t problem, because each person wants to be allocated from crowd. For instance, if two girls come in school-leaving party in one dress, it will be catastrophe for them. Fortunately, our generation has got a lot of articles with topic mass customization, and then we can consider mass customization from different foreshortenings. Evolution of mass customizationFirst, I think it is necessary to briefly describe the development of mass production to mass customization. Mass customization has been one of the causes of the economic growth in the 21st century. Below, you can see figure, which shows evolution of mass customization: Fig 1: Evolution of mass customization1 The first time our civilization has faced with mass customization in pre-industrialization era. In spite of this fact, today we also have started to develop it. Of course, these times are very different, because today peo ple use modern technologies.Between these periods we can observe mass production, which come in vogue with fundamental benefit of economy of scale and it was peak in mid century. For example, it was time of Soviet Union, and then companies produced a lot of similar clothes, shoes and etc. In late twentieth century, mass customization was back. Manufacturers offer different variation of products and customization is possible. Methods of application will examine in the next section. Mass customization strategies: advantages and disadvantages It is very important to understand how the mass customization works in practice.Generally, scientists mark out four strategies: transparent, cosmetic, adaptive and collaborative. A few words about each strategy: * Cosmetic strategy: companies produce a standard product but present it differently to different customers. Thereby customers satisfied with the product, and if they want, they can change packaging, for instance, the color, accessories, a nd other customer personalities. * Transparent strategy: this strategy is used by companies, which have specially knowledge of desires and preferences of customers. For transparent strategy is actual E-business.For example, service in website can analyses purchases, then it can recommend something based on previous purchases. * Adaptive strategy: producers try to modify standard product for the needs of customers. Thus, companies try to plan and represent of almost all possible combinations of product modules, like Microsoft. Then somebody buy software, he/she can add necessary functions. * Collaborative strategy: in this case companies don’t know what customers eventually want. Companies have to understand needs of customers and help to determine with necessary product, as in result to create its.It is very often, then strategy depends on industry there company worked. For example, companies which produce food and beverages use cosmetic and transparent strategies. In my opin ion, manufacturers have to estimate their possibilities; if they want have mighty profit. Why are companies interested in mass customization? The answer to this question is presented in the benefits of the above strategies: * Maximized market share by maximizing customers’ satisfaction and number of customers. * Cut cost of inventory and material waste: production has to work as a just in time.Companies should avoid large inventories of finished goods. * Increase cash flow: lower inventories, prepayment (thus lower receivables) increase cash flow. * Shorten time of responsiveness (accumulative time from receiving orders to delivering): organization structure and flexible manufacturing in mass customization allows the company to adapt to different demands rapidly. * Ability to supply a full line of products or service with lower costs: the purpose of mass customization is to differentiate products to particular demands, resulting in broader product lines of the company and a m uch lower risk of obsolete inventory.It is obvious, that companies can’t have only positive sides. It is important to understand, which problems may arise: 1. In mass customization costs are usually greater than in mass production. In some cases the product may not be different from standard product, but the price will be higher. Buyers will be unhappy, thus mass customization is inefficient. 2. Increasing of information in the production of individual goods could lead to costs. In this case the probability of production of defective goods rises. 3. Requirements for employees should be higher. Educated employees have to offer the optimal variant responding to the ustomer’s needs, otherwise, company can lose the loyalty of customers. 4. The production process can have difficulties with flexibility. Mass customization as a process I think that it is very important to know how the customization process can be divided into many sub-processes including the main stages of th e value chain. Moreover, it can help us to understand mass customization in details. First, I want to enumerate all sub-processes and explain at greater length. * The development sub-process; * The interaction sub-process; * The purchasing sub-process; * The production sub-process; * The logistics sub-process; The information sub-process. 1. The development sub-process. The product always should develop, if company wants that the mass customization will be successful. Requirements of buyers will be satisfied and costs of production will be reduced. The modularity is quite effective decision as it allows achieving the economy of scale and economy of scope. On the other hand, the modularity can be simple for imitation by competitors and development is more expensive. Other strategy, such as a commonality and platform strategies help to work to the companies to increase reusability in mass customization.Thus, product development in the mass customization is carried out through design e ngineers. Very high effect is reached, when the client participates in development of products himself. Companies should use customers’ innovative abilities. 2. The interaction sub-process. This process is also elicitation process. Thus, customer has to find the product that exactly fulfills his requirements. Company has to understand that everyone wants. Usually, to identify four types of elicitation process: identification (e. g. name and address), customers’ selections from menus of alternatives, physical measurements and reactions to prototypes.Usually, customers buy products in the Internet (in different Internet-shops) or go to the retail center and also buy necessary thing. Today, it is very quickly and easily to use Internet. For example, Adidas offers to buy sneakers in their web-site, there everyone can create own style. The interaction process is associated with electronic features. Another important thing that in mass customization consumers are actively in volved in production process. It is normal then customers are often called  «coproducers » or  «prosumers ». 3. The purchasing sub-process. Suppliers in mass customization are the very important part in reducing costs.Companies with good suppliers have got really competitive advantage. It is fact that the achievement of high profits lies in an effective and efficient component and material purchasing. Outsourcing strategies have been formed due to the modular architectures. The modular sourcing applies to reduce difficulty in purchasing process. In this case, companies have to trust each other and closely cooperate, if they want to achieve incredible results. 4. The production sub-process. Companies should focus on the economic order quantity (EOQ). Thus, the processes of production in mass customization should be minimized.The optimization of the production is the main task in the process. If a company wants to meet all the needs of customers, the production must be flexibl e. Companies need to understand then they want to make individual product, I mean, at what stage. Producers have got two important key terms: delayed product differentiation and postponement. They are two related concepts, whereby the means placing the decoupling point at later stages in the production processes. Another one describes that some production activities are not initiated until customer order arrives. 5.The logistics sub-process. This process includes work with clients and suppliers, plus accompanying. Usually, it call terms upstream and downstream. Upstream logistic is transportation, warehousing of materials and components for production and consolidation. The downstream logistics is the packaging and shipment of end products to customers. Unfortunately, these types of logistics face serious problems in mass customization, because costs of individualization increase. The all logistic has very heavy costs. Companies spend a lot of money for transportation and warehousin g equipment.It is a reason why these companies use outsourcing. Mass customization doesn’t have inventories of end product. The companies try to work individually with each person. Nobody wants to resemble another. 6. Information sub-process. This process cooperates with all processes described above. The purpose of the information sub-process is the providing of information stream. The effective information system should capture following stages: customers needs, develop a list of product requirements, determine manufacturing specifications with respect to routing, material processing, assembly and etc.Radio Frequency Identification can help to make identification. In spite of the fact that modern technologies are very useful, it remains very expensive. Another useful method for the coordination in mass customization is Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). Any supplier has got timely information about stock levels of modules and components. In addition, the integration of ERP (En terprise Resource Planning) helps to improve the agility and adaptability to unforeseen events. The mass customization will make profit if the software is constantly developed and updated.Finally, companies should work with a large number of data very accurately. I try to consider mass customization not only as one whole process, but separate sub-processes. It helps to understand the nature of mass customization. However, I should mention interrelated strategies such as postponement and modularization, because usually these strategies allow the companies to work successfully. In my essay I will give short concepts of strategy as below in this work other students will describe them in details. Modularization is necessary for the success of mass customization where set-up costs are critical.Also, modularization allows making rapid assembly and costing efficiency. Modularization usually uses in this field such as computer science, construction, design engineering and production. The ma in idea in modularization is the breaking down of the product into standardized components or group of components, which is called modules. The second strategy is postponement:  «Postponement means delaying activities in the supply chain until customer orders are received with the intention of customizing products, as opposed to performing those activities in anticipation of future orders ». These strategies are quite often used.Every year, the mass customization will be more popular in the companies. Conclusion of this part In this essay, I consider the most important aspects of mass customization. First, it was given the basic concepts of mass customization. I tried to examine the most important definitions and to explain the essence of mass customization. After that, I described a little history from mass production to mass customization. History has shown that the mass customization has already been applied to date. Now companies are using modern technology, so the result of up-to-date mass customization is different.Companies produce products more quickly than ever before. Information technology is used in all stages of production, which helps companies to satisfy consumer preferences. Also, I examined mass customization not only as a single process, but also to separate the process in parts, included development, interaction, purchasing, production, logistic and information sub-processes. Each sub-process has to be adjusted in order to avoid stagnation in the production and filing warehouses. In the essay, I also mentioned the main advantages and frequently used strategies.The company chooses the strategy which it thinks it is the most appropriate strategy. Usually, the strategy depends on the industry in which the company operates. In my opinion, the mass customization is developing and is very useful for manufacturers and consumers. First, customers are satisfied with goods with necessary characteristics. Second, company in the event of mass custom ization has lower costs compared to if it was made for each customer a totally unique product. Finally, I want to emphasize that the mass customization has both advantages and disadvantages. The company has to make a choice itself.Postponement strategies By Olga Baranova What is postponement? Effective management of a supply chain includes thinking creatively about how to integrate and perform logistics and manufacturing activities. Postponement strategy offer opportunities to achieve delivery of products in a timely and cost-effective manner by rearranging the conventional production and logistics structures, which are often designed and managed autonomously. Thus, postponement, also known as â€Å"delayed differentiation,† is a supply chain strategy that delays product differentiation at a point closer to the customer.This involves designing and developing standard or generic configurable products that can be customized quickly and inexpensively once actual consumer demand is known. Postponement also entails the implementation of specific inventory strategies to deploy inventory farther away from the customer while fulfilling service level objectives and reducing inventory costs and minimizing risk, strategies for holding the right inventory, at the right place, in the right form. By pushing the point of product differentiation closer to the customer, postponement can improve customer service levels, reduce inventory costs, and increase top-line revenue.The postponement strategy is based on the following two basic principles of demand forecasting: 1. The  accuracy of the forecast  demand decreases with an increase in the time horizon. The farther the time window for which the demand is being forecasted, the more inaccurate it will be. The figure graphically represents this effect as a funnel: as time extends farther into the future, the forecast error grows, showing that the forecast demand will have larger and larger variations as time periods pr ogress into the future. 2.Demand projections for a product group are generally more accurate than projections for individual products. It is much easier to forecast the total demand for LCD TVs than it is for an individual TV of a specific brand, model, screen size, resolution, and color contrast ratio. Postponement typology based on value chain activity It is based on the review of 15 studies; Table 1 was developed to summarize the terminologies used to define different postponement types. These define postponement on the basis of activities or place to differentiate between different postponement types.The check marks in front of every study indicate the postponement terminology used for that study. The following section (table 1) summarizes these terminologies under product development, purchasing, manufacturing and logistics postponement. Table 1 Summary of postponement terminologies based on the review of studies Product Development Postponement Strategy Product development pos tponement is considered extreme form of customization with all activities including product design taking place after the placement of an order.Moreover in this case, the customers are also involved during the design stage. Product development postponement strategy is preferred in highly volatile environments, involving high levels of uncertainty in terms of consumer demands, technological developments and government regulations. 2 For instance Toyota deals with the high levels of uncertainty by letting their suppliers come up with novel ideas and designs without limiting them with strict specification constraints. The suppliers have total independence to explore different areas within a broad range of design specs.During that time, people at Toyota continue gathering market data on consumer demands and technological trends, till some convergence is achieved. 3 Purchasing Postponement Strategy In the case of purchasing postponement strategy, the purchasing of raw materials is postpo ned until the information on downstream demand becomes available. Purchasing postponement strategy is preferred when the demand is highly uncertain, raw material has high obsolescence cost and is of high value in terms of total product cost or ties up huge amount of working capital.Purchasing postponement would work when the market lead time is greater than the manufacturer’s production lead time plus the suppliers lead time. 3 However, if the market lead time constraints the manufacturer from applying purchasing postponement, it can be adopted selectively for a range of products. This would be possible if the company is able to differentiate between base demand and surge demand. For base demand it can proceed with forecasted demand and purchase raw material or even proceed with production in case of longer production lead times. However for surge emand, the company can wait till demand pattern becomes available and then it can proceed to place orders. In order to manage supp lies for the surge demand, the manufacturers can have separate design of supply chain to deal with the surge demand, since under most scenarios regular production lead time for the surge demand would be greater than the market lead time. This design would be based on speed and agility with focus on fulfilling orders quickly rather than focusing lower cost by setting up fast production lines and purchasing raw materials from a different set of suppliers.However this would be feasible when the increase in cost due to fast paced production would be less than the gains accrued by adopting purchasing postponement strategy. This fact is highlighted by the postponement strategy adopted by Benetton, an apparel manufacturer, which separates between base demand and unpredictable demand. For the base demand, Benetton subcontracts to low cost sources, which have higher lead times, while for the unpredictable part, they utilize their own flexible facilities which have higher operating costs.Howe ver for purchasing postponement to work, it is imperative to have high level of collaboration between the manufacturers and the suppliers. Suppliers are required to respond to the downstream demand in minimum possible time so that the manufacturers can deliver within the market lead times, while resorting to purchasing postponement. In recent times e- market places have sprung up, enabling the manufacturers to get linked with the suppliers without any geographical constraints3. This increases the options of the manufacturers to respond to actual demand.However, having suppliers or their stock centers in close proximity to the manufacturers would support purchasing postponement strategy. Moreover this type of impulse buying contradicts the approach of developing long-term relationships with the suppliers and could also jeopardize the relationships with the existing suppliers. From a supply chain perspective, purchasing postponement involves shifting the ownership of the goods to the most suitable location. However in case of an imbalanced power structure, a manufacturer might force its suppliers to hold finished goods inventories in order to reduce its own risk and uncertainty cost.In this situation the suppliers are left with speculating the downstream demand, often resulting in the overall inventory buildup or ‘Bullwhip’ effect in the supply chain, which reduces the efficiency of the entire chain. 3 Manufacturing Postponement Strategy Manufacturing postponement is based on holding products at platform level later to be customized as per demand pattern. This is based on the principle that it is easier to forecast demand pattern at component level as compared to finished product stage3.It involves delaying manufacturing activities and holding inventory in neutral form till the demand pattern becomes visible. Thus this strategy works where there are multiple product derivatives, which could be due to different cultural, technological or market relat ed issues. High product variation makes it difficult to forecast and hold inventory at finished stage. Manufacturing postponement allows companies to operate without holding finished goods inventory while maintaining bulk of their inventories at pre-customized form.The inventory at this level has lower risk attached to it because their raw state permits them for wide usage variations. 4 For example, fashion apparel retail business is marked by high product obsolescence costs. This is because of the fact that product are planned long before the actual demand information becomes visible. Zara on the other hand has been able to capture market trends by reducing the time required to introduce new products. Among other steps, Zara uses manufacturing postponement to reduce its lead times.Zara concentrates its forecasting efforts on the kind 14  and amount of fabric it buys. Zara gains more speed and flexibility by purchasing more than 50% of its fabric un-dyed later to be used for vario us products and lines (platform based). It reduces the cost as well as the chances of forecast errors. In un-dyed form it is easier to convert fabric to other uses, while it gives Zara the flexibility to adapt to colors close to the selling season based on the immediate market needs. 5 Assembly postponement StrategyThe computer industry selling customizable product especially through the internet practice assembly postponement strategy. The customers select from various options such as color, memory specs, processors, and the companies such as Dell, HP and Compaq assemble the required models from components received from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). HP postpones the final assembling step to the last stage at the local distribution centers and once demand becomes visible, final manufacturing/assembly activities such as power supply, packaging and labeling are carried out.Labeling postponement Strategy Labeling postponement is adopted when the products are marketed und er different brand names or are distributed to different markets. For example at times the same OEMs are used by different brands for their products and the OEMs mark the products with labels after receiving respective orders. Similarly certain apparel distribution companies keep products 16  unmarked and upon receipt of orders from various institutions print their logos before dispatching the orders. Packaging postponement StrategyPackaging postponement strategy is adopted when the products are marketed in different bundles or package sizes. 6 The final packaging is delayed till orders are confirmed. Packaging activities are generally performed in the downstream locations such as centralized distribution centers. Logistics postponement Strategy Logistics postponement involves a delay in the final movement of the goods. Instead of placing the goods at the final point in the supply chain, they are kept at a central location, with the aim of following the demand pattern for the fina l shipments. This helps to reduce the inventories in the supply chain 17 while at the same time improves customer responsiveness. 3 Maintaining inventories at final locations would increase the inventory costs while at the same time would result in stock outs at some locations and excess stock at other locations. Logistics postponement often involves the repositioning of the final manufacturing activities downstream closer to the end user. This helps particularly where local variations in terms of consumer preferences exist, which could be better, catered to by carrying out the final customization at the local distributer level.Logistics postponement suits those products, which have higher inventory cost and lower transportation costs. Logistics postponement in most of the cases requires a faster and more responsive transportation system and can result in higher transportation costs. Benefits of using postponement strategy Successful postponement implementations improve customer sat isfaction while minimizing inventory costs. By improving their ability to respond to changes in demand from local and global markets, companies are better able to compete on time while remaining cost competitive. Improvement in Customer Satisfaction: Increased ability to offer a wider range of customized goods * Reduced lead time for orders Reduction in Inventory Cost: * Inventory costs shift upstream to less expensive generic products, which also reduces inventory obsolescence costs * Enables better planning and allocation of resources by reducing the forecasting horizon * Reduces inventory costs by as much as 30% to 40% in successful implementations Improvement in Order Fill Rates: * Since finished products are manufactured from generic components, companies are better able to deliver finished goods on time as a result of postponement.Bottom-Line Benefits: * Overall, postponement’s primary benefits are to reduce the effects of market uncertainty and to meet customer needs, while effectively managing supply chain costs. In many cases, lower overall supply chain costs were achieved by respondents. Critical success factors and ideal candidate for postponement strategy The keys to a successful postponement strategy are to produce standardized products and to incorporate customization at the most advantageous point in the supply chain.Proceeding from the aforesaid it is possible to allocate the following factors: * Organizational buy-in and support is the primary critical success factor * Implementation of appropriate inventory deployment strategy * A postponement strategy is destined for failure without consistent top-down support from design through implementation * Product design modularity and business process reengineering are critical to ensure smooth execution * Collaboration among all internal functions of the supply chain, as well as with suppliers and customers * Proper metrics and incentives are also importantResolving the competing interests wi thin a company’s supply chain is also essential. Without collaboration, including changes in the rewards and metrics structures of a supply chain, the changes associated with postponement often result in poor execution. In addition, external collaboration with suppliers and consumers is critical. If suppliers cannot respond to the changes as a result of postponement, and if product design is not tailored to customer requirements, postponement can result in cost overruns and increased lead times.The foundation of every successful postponement implementation is organizational buy-in. If management is not willing to take risks, implement significant changes, and monitor adjusted metrics, they will be less likely to reap the benefits of postponement. While many industries and companies are prime for postponement, there are certain business conditions that position a company for a more successful postponement implementation. Prominent among these are companies that produce a signi ficant variety of products with short product life cycles and which have a supply chain able to support mass customization.Regardless of business conditions, effective postponement implementation still requires collaboration, organizational buy-in, concerted effort, and the right information technology backbone. Modular Concepts in the Framework of International Supply Chain Management By Yuliya Pronkina In recent years, the competitive dynamics in general and the demand for product customization in particular have increased considerably in virtually all industry sectors: partly as a result of new low-budget competitors in the global markets and partly by increasing demand for technological performance.The ability to react quickly to unexpected market changes is one of the decisive reasons for the development of modular product architectures. If a company wants to remain competitive or expand its market share, it is posed to manage the compromise between such conflicting goals as: * low costs; * short lead times; * high quality of product. Modular strategy is intended to resolve this conflict and be able to become a solution to growing complexity of customizable production. It closely links with modular platform systems.In fact, modularity enables manufacturer to combine advantages of mass production (high volume, large quantity production) and product variety (flexible and versatile manufacturing systems, product tailoring, etc. ) at reduced cost and increased economies of scale. All in all product development strategies such as modularity, product modular platform, etc are the key to achieving low cost customization The modular concept has played significant role in the development of mass customization. This article examines main aspects of modular concept in the framework of global supply chain management.Definition of modules in the framework of global supply chain management To understand what modular strategy represents we tried to give the definitions of â€Å"modules† and find its real position among other strategies of mass customization. According to the Oxford Dictionary, definition of modules in general is following: Module is each of a set of standardized parts or independent units that can be used to construct a more complex structure, such as an item of furniture or a building. There are convenient statements among authors of studies about general meaning of modularity.According to them we can conclude that modularity refers to an approach to organize complex products and processes efficiently by decomposing complex tasks into smaller parts. It allows the tasks to be managed independently and yet work together as a whole without compromising performance. Thus we can consider modularity as the ability to configure product variants by mixing and matching components within similar product architecture to create variety of configuration without losing its functionality. Examples of modules would include many components in automobiles: engines, transmissions, audio equipment, tire/wheel options, etc.In electronics, modules would include processor boards, power supplies, plug-in integrated circuits, and disk drives. In software, code could be written in modules (objects) that can be combined into various combinations. In fabrication modular strategy is applied as flexible platforms for creation a significant number of product variations, enabling a firm to gain cost savings through economies of scale from component commonality, inventory, logistics, as well as to introduce technologically improved products more rapidly.Modular architectures allow firms to minimize the physical changes required to achieve some functional changes. Hence all the physical changes can be easily combined without adding complexity to the manufacturing system and, hence, to managerial system. To explore the concept of modularity and consider it in the framework of supply chain management, we decided to compare the differen ces between integral and modular product architecture and make further comparisons between corresponding supply chain architecture.Product architecture. Integral product architectures are those in which each component is provided directly and specifically to overall performance. Parts and interfaces tend to be proprietary. On a highly integrated product like a military aircraft, every part and system has been designed to perform a specific task. Modular product architectures use standard interfaces and can employ off-the-shelf components for much of assembly. Personal computers, clothing, and many other products employ modular architectures12.Supply Chain Architecture. Integral (traditional) supply chains require vertical integration within a primary firm or tight coupling of several firms in order to meet demanding, proprietary design specifications. Modular supply chain architectures are horizontal, with many competing firms specializing in aspects of the overall product. In other words, modularity in supply chains implies that the various units of organizations are freely divided, can operate independently, may be easily reconstructed.The concepts of product modularity and supply chain modularity are rather interconnected: changes in the product architecture result in important implications for the supply chain structure and re-distribution of activities across the logistics networks. This figure 2 shows us the simple scheme of interconnections of final assembler and its suppliers in traditional supply chain and modular supply chain. (2) (1) Figure 2. Simplified scheme of integral supply chain (1) and modular supply hain (2) In modular supply chain first tier suppliers are providing modules in the form of subassemblies, are not only components, therefore a modular supply chain is characterized by the presence of value-adding tier-suppliers that coordinate the work of the second tier suppliers. In non modular supply chain the role of assemblier is played onl y by a local firm. In the result of rather different approach, modular supply chain fosters some distinctions comparing to the traditional one. In the following table we compare the main features of supply chain depending on its mode of organization. Table 2Main features of supply chain depending on its mode of organization11 | Traditional supply chain| Mass customization supply chain| Interface compatibility effects| * Integrated vertical structure * Long development lead times| * Modular product architecture * Reduction of development lead time| Component customization| * Design and manufacturing focus * In-house product development * Standardized components| * Autonomous innovation in NPD * Customer focus * Design for manufacturability| Value inputs| * Economies of scale * Exploiting advantages of market mechanism * Standardization of operations * Consolidation of outbound logistics| * Outsourcing * Flexibility towards specific customers’ needs * Economies of scale and sco pe| Supplier-buyer interdependence| * Supplier involvement in development not critical * Multiple sourcing| * Early supplier involvement in NPD * Strategic partnership * Supplier as system integrator * High interdependence| The good example of applying modular strategy in practice is the following.Two German automotive companies, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz decided to develop the auto industry's modularization in the mid-1990s. Their built new plants, which started production in 1996 and 1997 according to the new modular concept on a relatively large scale, specifically at Volkswagen’s plants in Resende (Brazil), Boleslav (Czech), and Mosel (former East Germany), and Mercedes-Benz's plants in Vance (U. S. ) and Hambach (France). These plants had two main features. One is that they have assembled cars from relatively large subassemblies. As we can know a car is a system made up of numerous components. At conventional plants, individual components —— for example, instrument panels, gauges, and wire harnesses —— one by one to a vehicle body on the final assembly line.Instead, at those new plants, these individual components are subassembled on a separate line, and then installed as a module into a body on the final assembly line14. Suppliers procure their own materials and labor force to create separate modules, while Volkswagen provides the infrastructure and designs the interface between manufacturing units. These measures let companies reduce their costs, because on its new plants there were no need in â€Å"blue collars† (administrative staff), for instance, and its modular outsourcing made significant advantages which are resulted in an ability to issue a wider variety of final products in shorter time periods and at lower cost. Types of modularityThere are six types of modularity for the mass customization of products and services: * component-sharing modularity, * component-swapping modularity; * cut-to-fit modula rity; * mix modularity; * bus modularity; * sectional modularity. The following characteristics of different types of modularity are done by contemporary authors who are mostly referring to Ulrich and Tung study â€Å"Fundamentals of Product Modularity† (1991). We supposed it is convenient typology and decided to base further information on this ground (figure 3). In component-sharing modularity, the same component is used transversely in different products to provide economies of scope.There is a base unit of common components and changeable part. This kind of modularity never results in true individual customization, but allows reducing costs and increasing variety of products. Figure 3. Types of modularity In component-swapping modularity it is possible to change options on a standard product. Modules are selected from a list of options to can be added to a base product, for example cars. The good example for this is the â€Å"Configurator† on the internet site of V olkswagen, where customers can choose additional features which can be added to the base model with several clicks. So customer can make a decision which is convenient for him.Cut-to-fit modularity is similar to component-sharing and component-swapping modularity, except that one or more of the components is variable. The module can be changed before it is combined with other modules. The good examples for it are eyeglasses, or clothing. Mix-modularity is also similar to component-sharing and component-swapping modularity, but is distinguished by the fact that when combined, the modules lose their unique identity. An example is house paint. When particular colors of paint are mixed together, those components are no longer visible in the end product16. Bus modularity uses a main platform that can add different components to it.So in the result there is the infrastructure that is really required for each consumer. Sectional modularity is the type of modularity that provides the bigges t variety and customization among other types of modularization. Functionally it is rather close to component swapping, but focuses on arranging standard modules in a new, unique form16. In this case each component is connected to another making achievable the configuration of any number of different types of components. The most popular example is Lego. To be able to use this type of modularity a manufacturer has to develop a special interface of its product that allows sections or objects of different types to interlock16.Benefits and drawbacks of modularity, requirements for implementing of the concept Taking all into consideration we can list main benefits of modular strategy: * Economies of scale and scope which mean an ability to improve overall performance of production concentrating on divided modules. Suppliers and sub-suppliers have an opportunity to produce higher volume of its â€Å"modules† and apply its core-competencies to production. * Increased possibility of product/component change and updating. Since each module interface is strictly specified, changes can be made to a module independently of other modules, as so as it is wider open for further product development. * Reduced order lead-time.Since modules are manufactured in relatively large volume, the logistics of production can be organized so as to reduce manufacturing lead time. Hence, the order lead time can be reduced. * Development of product variety. The use of modules means that a great product variety can be achieved using different combinations of modules. * Separated tasks. Since the interfaces and modules have been standardized, their interfaces enable design tasks and production tasks to be decoupled. This dividing can result in reduced task complexity and in the ability to complete tasks in parallel. For instance it is easier to test it before final assembly, quality management can become more efficient due to separated modules. The ease of product upgrade, maintenance , repair, and disposal. Customer without any problem can change one module to another, for example he can buy an improved video card for his computer, or change an engine module in his automobile17. Although applying modular design provides a number of advantages across the organization, companies must also consider the less discussed drawbacks when evaluating the decision to implement modular design or reviewing existing modular processes. * High Initial Investment. The initial costs to reconfigure existing systems and processes are high. Reconfiguring to the modular design is a complex task, which may disrupt the existing flow of the product pipeline. Lack of Customer-Centricity. Focusing on cost-efficiencies company can lose clear vision of customer needs. * Coordination Complexity. Modular design requires a significant restructuring of processes and can increase product development complexity if companies do not assign clear ownership and collaboration with suppliers in a well-p lanned implementation process to avoid duplication of processes and inconsistency across product specifications, purchase orders, and manufacturing plans. * Supplier Risk . Companies can experience delays, incorrect specifications, and poor material quality. Hence there is a necessity of well-organized control in this case.Also, companies may have to share information and technical expertise to ensure suppliers deliver according to new specifications and cost. A company surrendering too much technical expertise, especially in areas that provide a competitive advantage, may lose technical control to the supplier * Intellectual Property Risk. Producing modules simplifies the product architecture, enabling competitors to recognize without difficulty technologies and copy modules. According to that, organizations must increase patent documentation to prevent competitors using key modules in their product architectures. In modular supply chain management, suppliers have a relatively high degree of freedom in production.However it is possible only with long-term commitments and aggressive cost goals. It is clear, that modular strategy has its basic requirements for the suppliers and manufacturers which enable them work together to create value. To implement modular strategy company should be able to meet such requirements, as following: * Particular organization structure. The organization structure should be flatter with fewer levels, and creates a freedom for the coordination among processes (modules). It focuses on a high degree of cross-functional integration and employee participation. This results in a much higher degree of decentralization in decision making.Besides, the structure is open to suppliers as well as customers because they (suppliers and customers) are considered extensions of the organization; * Management focuses on three parts: supplier relation, customer relation, and resource management; * Readiness of inputs when needed (this requires an eff ective supply network), skillful, highly educated employees with excellent technical qualifications; * High standardization of components. Also adjusting a company’s organizational structure with a modular product architecture requires the constant support and enduring responsibility of the top management. The level of quality control and coordination in development of modules should be in a high level.Effective development and efficient use of modules requires changes in the existing processes in many ways. Modularization in automotive industry (Volkswagen’s modular strategy) As usual, the automotive industry is a leader in implementing and communicating a modularization strategy. The Volkswagen Group is characterized by its global presence and comprises numerous brands. The Volkswagen Group bases its great success on three major modules which are shared on a broad scale. The successfully implemented modularization strategy is one of the key factors which will enable the Volkswagen Group to become the world leading car manufacturer, not only in terms of sold units but also in terms of superior margins8.Now The VW Group is a large automotive empire encompassing 10 brands, 240 models produced across 94 sites in 153 markets, totaling over 8. 3 million vehicles made each year. The sheer scale of its operations across so many different countries meant that variability of its products is very high. Applying of modular strategy by Volkswagen meets customers’ expectations for a growing variety of vehicle models, equipment features and design. Through the modularization of the body, vehicles can be produced in different stages for the length, width and wheelbase – an approach that benefits the manufacturing process. We’ll discuss the main features of Volkswagen modular strategy created in its â€Å"Modular Transverse Toolkit (MQB)† in the next chapter.To sum up, companies that are striving to be competitive and still want to h ave a relatively high profit margins and market shares in our case can choose mass customization strategies and modular strategies in particular because: * Modularity makes complexity manageable * Modularity enables parallel work; * Modularity is tolerant of uncertainty. Shared platform strategies in the framework of international supply chain management. By Alexander Manzhosov Abstract The logical order of development of international markets, industries and customers behavior led businesses to a new frontier of competition for manufacturing industries as well as for service industries – to Mass Customization.The core reason for such a change in the market concept was a dramatically increase in diversity of consumers needs within market segments. And as the world recognized guru of management Peter Drucker once said:  «It’s a customer who determines what a business is. It’s the customer alone who’s willingness to pay for a good or for a service convert s economic resources into wealth, things into goods.  » Translated to the real terms that meant for the manufacturers a new challenge of meeting various customers needs while carrying on following to basic trends of reducing costs and development times of a product and optimizing core business processes.That’s why platform strategies were designed and applied to increase the efficiency and profitability of manufacturing. This paper seeks to identify the phenomenon of shared platform strategies, research their advantages and disadvantages for supply chains and study the consequences of implementing the strategy on the case of Volkswagen Group. Key words: mass customization, shared platform strategies, supply chain. Introduction Many modern manufacturers are seeking new ways to improve their Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and concentrating their facilities on cost reducing while offering the collection of competitive goods in many different market segments. And one of the m ethods of achieving this goal is by implementing shared platforms approach.The benefit is possible to be gained because of coordinating of engineering processes with the actual production system and supply chains. The platform allows companies to share not only components, but also production tools and machinery. Thus our first effort to establish the basis of the concept of sharing platforms among the family of products is to define the term â€Å"platform†. After that there is a further problem of realization in which way does the concept affect the company and how the enterprise can get a competitive advantage by mean of implementing shared platform strategies. Platform concept The ideas of sharing platforms have received increasing attention in product development and operations management in the time when mass customization era arose.So companies had to â€Å"produce goods and services to meet individual customer's needs with near mass production efficiency†. The platform concept is closely tied to models of product architecture, modularization and standardization. The platform itself can be defined as â€Å"a relatively large set of product components that are physically connected as a stable subassembly and are common to different final models†. The definition has been stated above can be clarified by Figure 4. Figure 4. Three different products build on the same platform The figure illustrates the general idea of platforms sharing. Three different products are assembled by combining elements A, B, C, D, E.According to the illustration it can be concluded, that this product family consists of the element A (platform) and a set of other elements used in a modular way. What emerges from the definition and illustration that in general designing a platform is about creating common shared components and systems throughout a family line, while providing differentiated features and benefits to add value to each production unit (Figure 5). Figure 5. Common principle of sharing platforms . The trick here is that totally different at the first sight products from different brands and from different price segments of the market can be equal in engineering terms.Still the platform is not a universal cure. And based on empirical evidence there are some preconditions of implementing platforms: * The product family shares basic groups of elements * The product family is supposed to have a long lifecycle * The level of interconnected systems among the product family is relatively high * The technological environment of the market tends to constant updates * The core functionality of the products is stable but variable in the terms of non-core functions All these criteria are not ultimate and the suitability of decisions taken depends on specificity of organizations type and the product characteristics as well.It also should be added, that depending on criteria mentioned above and the target of the manufacturer, platforms can be categorized into 3 types: * Modular * Scalable * Generational The main difference by such a categorizing emerges owing to the strategy of launching the product line. The modular platform usually allows designing functionally different product variants. On the contrary, scalable one aims at creating functionally equal products of many capacities. And the last one, the generational platform is used to be a basis for new generation development. The reasons of implementing platforms It follows from what has been said above, that the platform concept is a quite flexible approach for manufacturers, moreover sometimes it seems vital for staying competitive on the market.And now we can pass on to the issues closely related to the platform implementation and it’s consequences for the companies operations and supply chain structure. Nowadays critical issues for consideration in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) are cost containment, development know-how and resources, product qualit y and logistics. As the supply chain can be represented as the combination of enterprises involved in activities from the supply of raw materials to the manufacturing and delivery of the goods to the customers, the success of the whole supply chain depends on how to generate the most efficient configuration of the products, manufacturing processes and supply sources. In this connection a question is bound to arise whether the shared platform approach is an effective method or not.This brings us to advantages and disadvantages of such a scheme. Advantages and disadvantages of implementing shared platform strategies The purpose with platform sharing is to reduce the cost and have a more efficient product development process. And according to the purpose announced from m point of view it’s possible to classify advantages of shared platform strategy into three key groups: * Quantitative * Qualitative * Customer-oriented Quantitative advantages by this mean include such factors as : 1. The Global standardization 2. The Economy of scale 3. The rationalization and the reduction of R&D costs The value of the standardizations is quiet obvious.By creating a common platform for the product line the company creates â€Å"flexibility†, which allows not only to produce dissimilar models according to individual customers’ and even countries’ tastes but also provides an opportunity to standardize production facilities and streamline logistics and management as well. The economy of scale in this case follows directly from the previous factor: the commonality of the exploiting components, modules, mechanisms, assembly lines reduce overall costs and simplifies the business and technological processes within the company sparing human and monetary resources. The next important issue concerns R&D costs. The unity of components under one single platform helps dramatically minimize the cost of developing product lines. Once the platform is designed, the com pany doesn’t need to spend millions on engineering new components.And platform efficiency – â€Å"the ratio between the average R&D costs (or development time) for derivative product over the cost (or time) spent for the platform† increases (the lower the ratio the more efficient the platform is). Such an effect is possible because different products share the same technology process, structure and production mechanisms. Qualitative advantages include: 1. Increased quality and innovations 2. Easer inventory management The proposed components’ commonality is a multi-oriented tool: platform sharing allows manufacturers to design parts with fewer variation. A byproduct of this is increased quality, which results in lower defect rates.On the other hand, people want value for their money they want new technologies. And eliminating the need to engineer separately thousands of parts allows research and development assets to be focused on fewer technologies foste ring innovation and quality improvements in the minor set of technologies. One more critical point is inventory management. It’s apparent that in any supply chain a tremendous amount of inventory is held in the form of components. And it’s essential to mention that the inventory amount corresponds always to the uncertainty of demand for the finished product. In that way by implementing a platform the manufacturer is able to use it in multiple finished products.So the demand for the platform and all components the platform consists of is an aggregation of the demand for all cross-platform finished products. That’s why â€Å" the use of common components (or set of components – platform) in a variety of products has been a very effective supply chain strategy to exploit aggregation and reduce component inventories†. Another clear benefit concerns the relations between suppliers and manufacturer. By implementing platforms the producer decreases the un certainty of demand on different components. That creates a win-to-win situation for both business partners by enabling them to build long-term relationships. The last group of advantages is customer oriented and includes: 1. Faster response to changing market needs 2. Greater product varietyIt’s critical to mention, that this group of pros can be clearly defined through observation on previous advantages. And faster response to changing market needs occurs because platform sharing allows manufacturers to design and launch new products faster and cheaper. And the trick is here that the development and cost of the original platform for new goods have already been paid for. Such flexibility provides an opportunity to the company to diversify its assortment and satisfy different market shares. However it’s impossible to complete the study without highlighting some possible problems when using platform approach: 1. Product dilution 2. Incompatibility 3. Risk concentrationP roduct dilution means that a platform, depending on the common machines and systems, can be extended thin if it becomes a source of too many disparate models. Moreover, platforms that span across models of different stature increase the risk of cheapening luxury products or adding unnecessary cost to lower-end segment. Another challenge is incompatibility. A platform’s differentiating technologies must be carefully engineered to integrate with the standardized systems. Otherwise, producers will have to perform modifications to make the two types of technologies compatible. These compatibility regulations first of all are not differentiating modifications and secondly they provide zero value of their own to the finished product. The last but not the least possible problem is the risk concentration.Producers may face greater overall risk if the underlying platform they’ve developed and implemented is accident-prone. A defect in a standardized technology multiplies the ri sk across the whole product line, which leads to expensive potential recalls. Shared platform strategies As has been indicated, in general implementing a platform promises much more benefits than negative consequences. And once the decision to implement platforms is considered, there are various strategies for the product implementation (Figure 6). Some of the most widely practiced platform strategies are No Leveraging, Vertical Leveraging, Horizontal Leveraging and the Beachhead Approach. Figure 6. Shared platform strategiesNo Leveraging platform is usually designed especially for a single market segment. Such strategy is implemented for high scale goods wi