Legion of Honor Trip Essay Example for Free

Legion of Honor Trip Essay This semester marked the first time I had stepped foot onto any type of school or college in over six years. I must say things have changed. Everything seems to be taken over by the internet and I’m not exactly sure I like this idea just for the fact that it takes away from past habits. Furthermore, I am extremely glad that I had the opportunity to enroll in this Art 165 class because it taught me not only the history of art but how to appreciate it as well. As I drove up the road to the Legion of Honor I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a beautiful structure with amazing scenery to surround the museum. It really wasn’t like anything I had ever seen or been to before, if you can tell I don’t leave town very much. After making my admission official with putting on my un-adhesive sticker, I walked into a space of extraordinary history. Not knowing where to start, I began on to the left where I found artworks from the Medieval times and the Renaissance. In the room there was an incredible ceiling that displayed what I thought was an early pendentive. While in the Renaissance room, I seen a painting by El Greco that really caught my eye. It was his painting Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation. This painting is an oil on canvas and was done around 1605-1610. The art work explains the life of Saint Francis and his love to Jesus. People at the museum were saying that Saint Francis was a very poor man who always had his own death on his mind. He wondered constantly how he was going to die and if it was going to be a nice or painful death. The painting shows him kneeling and praising Jesus while having a skull in the background making you feel as if he was having death on his mind. The artist must relate to Saint Francis because on the issue of death or some type of detachment to the world because most of El Greco’s art shows humans in a very pale, thin and unhealthy perspective. The brushwork was extremely detailed with a beautiful diagonal composition. Entering the Baroque and Rococo section of the museum I seen the Equestrian Statue of Charles III. It was produced by Tommaso Solari of Italy in 1762. At first sight, you would think it was Donatello’s Gattamelata. The next thing you find out, is that it’s wax! Maybe that was common in these times, however, being that we never went over any wax statues or wax artworks, this was astounding to me. From a 360 degree point of view, this piece of art had me in awe. How does something made of wax stay so delicate and well preserved? If you look at the straps on the sides of the horses mouth or in King Charles’ hand, you would actually think they were real because of the extreme detail. Da Vinci had been commissioned to create a large scale horse which was never produced, however, seems to me the horse that King Charles is riding has a very familiar pose as well as its features as did Da Vinci’s concept. As I walked through the museum I found myself in the 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Painting room. There I seen a very different still life portrait. It was titled Hunting Still Life by the Flemish painter Jan Fyt. This oil on canvas was produced in 1655. It is told that his influences for hunting portraits and still life were from his teacher named Snyders. This still life contains graphic images of dead animals such as birds, chickens and a rabbit or hare tied to a rifle. I believe this portrait shows a great example of Tenebroso in the way the light shines on the animals making them the subject of the portrait. If you look at it closely the sunlight on the clouds says that the sun is coming from the opposite direction that the light that is shining on the animals is coming from. You can see the dog staring at its light source as if he’s defending the animals from cruelty, there is also a badger or some type of creature hissing at that light source as well saying â€Å"Get back! † Since dogs meant fidelity in paintings, then this dog is being true to his own kind in that sense and his red collar probably represents his compassion. I find myself a sucker for still life portraits and I enjoyed this one especially for its uniqueness.

Tariff and non tariff trade barriers

Tariff and non tariff trade barriers INTRODUCTION Despite all the evident benefits of international trade, governments have a tendency to put up trade barriers to protect the domestic industry. There are two kinds of barriers: tariff and non-tariff. Tariff Barriers Tariff is a tax levied on goods traded internationally, that is on imports. As a result, the price level of imported products rises and the demand for them decrease, thus imports are less. Non-tariff Barriers Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) include all the rules, regulations and bureaucratic delays that help in keeping foreign goods out of the domestic markets. Baldwin  [1]  defined a non-tariff distortion as any measure (public or private) that causes internationally traded goods and services, or resources devoted to the production of these goods and services, to be allocated in such a way as to reduce potential real world income. The WTO After the World War II, many countries focused on protecting home industries. So, international trade was hampered by severe trade restrictions. To remedy this situation, twenty-three nations joined together in 1947 and signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which stimulated free trade by regulating and lowering tariffs. The work of GATT is sustained by the World Trade Organization (WTO) which encourages global commerce and reduces trade barriers. Tariffs on goods and services have been reduced to low levels through eight successive rounds of the WTO; still there has been a significant increase of Non-Tariff Measurements which are seriously hindering trade. Countries use many mechanisms to restrict imports. NTBs have gained importance as tariff levels have been reduced worldwide. They are the greatest single threat to a liberal world trading system and they are becoming more widespread: the percentage of industrial countries total imports subject to NTBs rose from 25% in 1981 to 27% in 1983 and they are even higher today. NTBs are therefore one of the most important issues in the round of international trade negotiations. TYPES OF NON-TARIFF BARRIERS Non- Tariff Barriers to trade can be categorized in six types: Specific Limitations on Trade: Quota shares A quota is a restriction in value or in physical terms, imposed on import and export of certain goods for a certain period of time. For example, the US has imposed a quota on textiles imported from India and other countries. Import licenses/ Restrictive licenses Import licensing can be defined as administrative procedures requiring the submission of an application or other documentation, other than those required for customs purposes, to the relevant administrative body as a prior condition for importation of goods  [2]  . For example, in Washington, cheese and cheese products are subject to the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture and most importations of cheese require an import license and are subject to quotas administered by the Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service  [3]  . In Mauritius, pesticides require import licence from the Ministry of Health, arms and ammunitions require import permit from the police and many others.  [4]   Exchange controls This is monitoring the amount of foreign exchange available to residents for purchasing foreign goods domestically or while travelling abroad is another way of restricting imports. Foreign exchange restrictions and foreign exchange controls occupy a special place among the non-tariff regulatory instruments of foreign economic activity. Foreign exchange restrictions constitute the regulation of transactions of residents and nonresidents with currency and other currency values. Import bans/ limitations This is a government order forbidding imports of a specific kind or from a particular country. For example, in order to protect the domestic manufacturers against cheap competition from the neighboring country, the government of India imposed ban on the import of Chinese toys. Moreover, many countries, like for example India, have impose a ban on food imports from Japan fearing contamination. Furthermore following a milk scandal that led to the widespread poisoning of babies in China, India banned the import of milk and milk products from China. Embargoes Embargo is a particular type of quotas prohibiting the trade, in other words, when imports from a specific country are totally banned. It is mostly put in place due to political reasons. For example, the United Nations imposed an embargo on trade with Iraq as a part of economic sanctions in 1990. Customs and Administrative Entry Procedures Customs Valuation There is a commonly held view that the invoice values of goods traded internationally do not reflect their real cost. This gave rise to a very subjective system of valuation of imports and exports for levy of duty. If the value ascribed to a particular product would turn out to be considerably higher than its real cost, it could end in affecting its competitiveness by increasing the total cost to the importer due to the excess duty. This would hence act as a barrier to international trade. Antidumping practice If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market, it is said to be dumping the product. Antidumping is prohibiting a country to dump, that is, to export goods at usual lower prices. Documentation requirements This is when complicated and unnecessary documentation requirements are asked by the importing countries. In Mauritius, according to the Mauritius chamber of commerce and Industry of Mauritius, these imports documents are required; invoice, showing the FOB and CIF value of goods; packaging lists; bill of lading; bill of entry; and where applicable; insurance certificate, certificate of inspection, certificate of origin and imports permits  [5]  . Rules of origin Determining where a product comes from is no longer easy when raw materials and parts across the globe are used as inputs in the manufacturing plants. Rules of origin are important in implementing such trade policy instruments as anti-dumping and countervailing duties, origin marking, and safeguard measures. Technical barriers to trade Technical Barriers Countries generally specify some quality standards to be met by imported goods for various health, welfare and safety reasons. In Mauritius, rice (imported by traders other than the State Trading Corporation) should not exceed 10% broken rice, bakery additives shall not contain potassium bromate as an ingredient  [6]  , etc. This facility can be misused for blocking the import of certain goods from specific countries by setting up of such standards, which deliberately exclude these products. The process is further complicated by the requirement that testing and certification of the products regarding their meeting the set standards be done only in the importing country. The Precautionary Principle The precautionary principle, is a government restrictions on trade in the context of environmental and health concerns, often regardless of cost or scientific evidence. The precautionary principle has been interpreted by some to mean that new chemicals and technologies should be considered dangerous until proven otherwise. It therefore requires those responsible for an activity or process to establish its harmlessness and to be liable if damage occurs. Sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions This is a restriction on imports from certain places in order to protect consumers, the environment, or agriculture from harmful diseases or pests that may accompany the imported product. For instance, in Mauritius, agricultural goods require a phytosanitary certificate from the ministry of Agriculture, prepared foods, drugs, and chemicals with potential adverse effects on health require phytosanitary certificate from the Ministry of Health.  [7]   Packaging conditions, labeling conditions and product standards. Countries usually impose standards on classification, labeling and testing of products in order to be able to sell domestic products, but also to block sales of products of foreign manufacture. These standards are occasionally entered under the excuse of protecting the safety and health of local populations. In Mauritius, the establishment in charge for the control of standards mainly for food and other items is the Mauritius Standards Bureau. In addition, European exporters and investors are facing an increasing number of unjustifiable non-tariff barriers in the form of product certification, labeling standards, import approval requirements and customs clearance delays. Also, many of the Chinese standards such as the CCC standard require certification by the Chinese authorities before a product can be put on the Chinese market. Important information has to be submitted and the factory has often to be inspected at the expense of the exporter. Government Participation in Trade Complex regulatory environment Some countries have complex regulatory framework, for e.g. complex business registration and license, and thus this hamper free trade. For instance, rules recently enacted in China, prohibit European financial information agencies and operators to sell directly their services customers in China. Government procurement policies This is another type of NTB where governments pretty frequently follow the policy of procuring their requirements (including that of government-owned companies) only from local producers, or at least extend some price advantage to them. This closes a big potential market to the foreign producers. Subsidies to Local Goods This occurs when governments directly or indirectly subsidize local production in an effort to make it more competitive in the domestic and foreign markets. For example, tax benefits may be extended to a firm producing in a certain part of the country to reduce regional imbalances, or duty drawbacks may be allowed for exported goods, or, as an extreme case, local firms may be given direct subsidies to enable them to sell their goods at a lower price than foreign firms. Countervailing duties This is a duty placed on imported goods that are being subsidized by the importing government. This helps to even the playing field between the domestic producers and the foreign producers receiving subsidies. Buy national policy This is a policy hosted by the government to help the national economy. For instance, in 2009, the Paraguayan Finance Ministry specified changes to public procurement policy in relation to the national stimulus plan. That is, public bodies that seek to spend money from the stimulus money are to give preference to national goods and services. More specifically, domestic goods shall receive a preferential margin of 70 percent over imported products. In terms of labor, the announcement declares that at least 70 percent of the labor involved in stimulus projects shall come from local employees living in the territory of the contracting public authority. Charges on imports Variable import levy A  variable import levy  is a  levy  on imports that raises their price to a level at least as high as the domestic price. Such levies are adjusted frequently in response to changes in world market prices, and are imposed to defend administered prices set above world market prices. Under the  Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, the variable levies of the EU have been converted into fixed tariffs or tariff-rate quotas. Border taxes It is a tax system for imports and exports, especially one that compensates for internal taxes in Common Market countries by levying fees or paying rebates. Others Voluntary Export Restraints This is an act of limiting exports. It happens when a country facing a persistent huge trade deficit against another country pressurized the latter to adhere to a self-imposed limit on the exports. For instance, after facing consistent trade deficits over a number of years with Japan, the US persuaded it to impose such limits on itself. Direct and Indirect Restrictions on Foreign Investments A country may directly restrict foreign investment to some specific sectors or up to a certain percentage of equity. Indirect restrictions may come in the form of limits on profits that can be repatriated or prohibition of payment of royalty to a foreign parent company. These restrictions discourage foreign producers from setting up domestic operations. Foreign companies are generally interested in setting up local operations when they foresee increased sales or reduced costs as a consequence. Thus, restrictions against foreign investments add impediments to international trade by giving rise to inefficiencies. PROBLEMS CAUSE BY NTBs The reduction of tariffs in progressive rounds of trade liberalization at the multilateral and regional levels has been mirrored by the rise to prominence of NTBs. NTBs for instance specific limitations on trade and charges on imports such as quotas, import ban and so on, will directly affect trade negatively as they will impact on exporting countries by decreasing or prohibition their exports. Although embargo is usually introduced for political purposes, the consequences, in essence, could be economic. This decrease or ban in exports, if it was of an important quantity/ value, will create serious economic catastrophe for the exporting countries and may result in Balance of Payments deficiency, a decrease in GDP, an increase in the level of unemployment and if nothing is done to remedy the situation, the country can go in a recession. NTBs in the customs and administration entry procedures category and in the standards category do not directly hamper free trade but they add to business cost. These testing procedures being expensive, time consuming and cumbersome to the exporters, act as a trade barrier. This will eventually raise their costs, leading to higher prices thus making them less competitive at international level, and small and medium enterprises may be discouraged to export. A vivid example is in Iran where  NTBs negatively impact on the trade of pistachio and shrimp products. The most important reasons for the reduced export of these products are Sanitary Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers (TB). According to WTO rules, countries are allowed to adopt regulations under the SPS and TB agreements in order to protect human, animal and plant health as well as the environment, wildlife and human safety.  [8]   However, by imposing NTBs, both counties will lose, that is, the country which imposes the NTMs also loses. This can be demonstrated by the following facts: for instance, Japanese consumers pay five times the world price for rice because of import restrictions protecting Japanese farmers. American consumers also suffer from the same double burden, paying six times the world price for sugar because of trade restrictions. Hence, allowing free trade in a way will benefit everyone. European consumers pay dearly for restrictions on food imports and heavy taxes for domestic farm subsidies.  [9]   HOW TO REDUCE NTBS The action should start from the top, that is, from the WTO itself. The WTO has already reached some agreements like the Anti-dumping Agreement, SPS agreements, technical barriers agreements and many other agreements. Moreover, RTAs is the first step to reduce NTBs, as it is easier to get the consensus of all an RTA members on a matter that the consensus of all the WTO members. In addition, RTAs normally constitute of country members with a similar/ more or less the same economic background. For instance, in ASEAN, most members are from developing countries while EU has members from developed countries. As a result, removing NTBs will benefits all the members equivalently. For example, there has already been an agreement on the general features of the process for eliminating NTBs in ASEAN. The process Involves, verification of information on NTBs, prioritisation of products/NTBs, developing specific work programmes, and obtaining a mandate from the ASEAN Economic Ministers to implement the work programme.  [10]   In addition, different RTAs have different methods of reducing NTMs. Such as, the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies aims at building a shared regulatory framework and at achieving greater security for consumers and workers, better protection for the environment and reduced cost for international trade.  [11]  They also developed standards for agricultural produce that define minimum quality requirements in order to facilitate the trading process. CONCLUSION Free trade, will surely benefits many countries. Thus in order to allow trade to occur freely, tariffs as well as non-tariff barriers need to be reduced. However, sometimes for safety reasons, some NTMs are required. For instance the import ban on food from Japan is necessary in order to avoid the proliferation of the radioactive contamination. Thus some trade restrictions may be necessary for countries to ensure the safety of the food supply and the health of plants, animals and the environment. However, sometimes governments go beyond what is necessary to protect domestic industries.   Moreover, free trade can increase the poverty gap. This is so because developing countries and LDCs will not be able to compete with developed countries and multinationals may implant themselves in the LDCs just to reap the benefit of cheap labour and resources and does not contribute more to the development of those LDCs.

Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay

Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay Information Technology now a day is growing in rapid pace. Almost every sector and the activities in this world are being attached with the Information Technology. Business organisations cannot survive in this competitive world without using some form of technology however, they must have to use technology strategically in order to keep their existence for a long term. In this essay I am going to present the case of one of a large, power engine manufacturing organisation ie, Rolls Royce. This essay will discuss about the scenario of Rolls Royce with its system before the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, why the organisation felt need for implementation of ERP and what are the business advantages they are able to get with the strategic implementation of ERP and how. Introduction: Todays business organisations find themselves in a more vibrant and competitive environment. Business leaders have responded to these by laying more emphasis on technology so as to continue with smooth and efficient running of businesses and gaining competitive advantages. Computer based information systems have been very popular in recent years, organisations like Rolls Royce have stake most of the business operations on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is an information system that integrates financial, material and human resources of an organisation, it also facilitate information flow between different business functions and connection to external stake holders. This paper will seek to desert the implementation of ERP by Rolls Royce, understand the business needs of ERP, and last but not the least the aftermath implementation of ERP. Background of Rolls Royce: Rolls-Royce is a multinational company which manufactures power solutions for the customers in aerospace, marine and energy markets. The founders of this company are Henry Royce and Charles Rolls. The brand name Rolls Royce came after their surnames. The company came into existence about 100 years before. It is first established with the intension of manufacturing the best car in the world. Later on Rolls Royce organisation slowly expands its business in various markets, its name and brand was extended and now it has its manufacturing industries situated in 20 different countries and has its customers in more than 120 countries.  [1]   Now it has became one of the worlds largest power engine manufacturing companies. One of the main reasons behind their success is the strategic use of technology to compete in this business world. Though its main headquarter is in UK 45 % of their employees are based outside the UK. They are running a civil aerospace business from UK with emerging capabilities in Germany and the US. They are growing up day by day. All the transactions, interdepartmental coordination, coordination with their supplier, consumers and customers are maintained well and effectively and it is possible for them only by using modern technologies to communicate, gather and process the information. [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They look forward to their customers need for the next 30 to 40 years and do research in the technology to stay competitive. They are having good market strength with many products and many customers. It produces goods as well as provides services to its customers in fact, services are the most important part of their business it accounts for nearly above half of their revenue every year. So there is the great importance of real time data management which enables them to be predictive and they can immediately react to the issues related to the engine that comes for the service.  [2]   Information System: Information Technology (IT) and Information System (IS) are part of each other. Information system is the computerized program which collects data, processes it and gives the useful information. This information can be used for various purposes to add up the value in the business. It can be used for report generation, planning, decision making, business operation and which further will lead the organisation to obtain competitive advantage. Figure: Strategic Framework  [3]   Information technology has become one of the largest components where organisations are investing their capital. Most of the business organisation are wisely investing large amount of their money in information systems. The wise choice of investment can outperform competitors and if it was the poor choice then it will be nothing more than wasting their valuable capital. [Laudon (2006)]. Today the world is getting smaller and smaller this is because of the information technology and hence competition in the businesses is rising day by day. So to gain the competitive advantage, strategic use of information system is the must no matter it is smaller business organisation or the larger. According to Brooks (2003), adding value to the business means to extend products, decrease the cost, improve the quality of services and products and so on. The reason for adding value to the business is to attract more customers, and keep organisation in a better place in the market. The use of Information technology and information system has become the efficient and more common way for adding value to the organisations of todays business world. Only the use of IT system is not sufficient to add value and to take competitive advantage of it, the strategic use of IT System is the most. According to WU J (n.d.), ERP system is such a strategic tool, which integrates information and infor mation-based processes within and across functional areas in an organization. Rolls Royce was using information system since long. It was using 1500 systems before using ERP (SAP R/3), many of those systems were built internally by Rolls-Royce in last two decades. Those systems were costly to operate and not easy to maintain. They didnt give precise and steady result because these systems were not centralised and using the values from different systems will give inconsistent result. Looking at all these problems Rolls-Royce formed a partnership with electronic data services (EDS) in 1996 and EDS was responsible for the development of ERP for Rolls Royce [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Though there are many implementation difficulties such as cultural difficulties (Training of new system to the employees), business difficulties (modification of working to fit in the ERP) and technical problem (transferring of previous records into the new system and to reach the consistent stage), Rolls Royce needs to implement the ERP because they knew the nec essity of the centralised, robust, accessible and accurate system to gain the competitive advantage and to improve their supply chain. ERP combines all departments together into a single system in a single computer. It uses internet technology and it can be accessed by authorised department and authorised personnel anytime from anywhere so interdepartmental communication can be done easily and efficiently and hence optimizes the time and the cost. Impacts of ERP Implementation in Rolls Royce: According to the annual report (2009) of Rolls Royce Our process excellence and improvement journeys continued throughout 2009. Our joint venture engine overhaul facilities, Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL) and Singapore Aero Engine Services Limited (SAESL), were the latest to benefit from the rollout of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and SAP process systems. Rolls Royce has implemented and is making use of information systems very efficiently and effectively that is why they are in the apex of success today. Rolls Royce is making use of ERP for communication, decision making, to manage their business operations, improve value chain, to reduce competitive forces and as a whole to gain competitive advantage. We will now discuss one by one how Management Information System (MIS) like ERP will help the business organisation to gain the advantages maintained above and we will see the impact of using ERP in the Rolls Royce. Communication One of the critical factors which lead the organisation towards its success is the effective communication (intra-organisation and inter-organisation). Employer and managers of todays business organisation must have to be familiar with the effective communication techniques for the success of the organisation. And effective communication has become an important tool for the organisations success. ERP boost the communication between the functional boundaries within the organisation. Rolls Royce is efficiently and effectively using this advantage provided by ERP. Rolls Royce is also a service provider to its customers. When customers demand services to be delivered in more timely and perfect way, organisations must overcome functional boundaries to meet this challenge. Rolls Royce is widely spread in different countries and all of its organisational functions are not carried out in a single place. ERP helps the effective communication within different departments and between their suppliers, customers as well as with their partner organisations. And this obviously adds value to the organisation by reducing the research time, providing the accurate and the optimized reports and minimizing the communication cost. Lets take an example, Rolls Royce uses Suppliermanager website to pull together all the information their supplier needs. They are using SABRe which shows the external part of the Rolls-Royce Quality Management System, and is applicable to all its suppliers or partners who are providing products or services that effect upon Rolls-Royce and its customer requirements.  [4]  By using these strategy of using information system and providing the information, Rolls Royce is minimizing the cost and time for the communication. Decision Making Decision Making is one of the important factors in every business organisation. Again the decision is made with the help of report generated by the Information System. One of the major advantages of using good information system like ERP is that it increases the speed of decision making within an organisation and provides the circumstances to make faultless decisions in strategic, managerial as well as operational level. Lets take the case of Rolls Royce, the legacy systems used in Rolls Royce did not provide accurate, consistent and accessible data that was required for good and timely decision-making and performance assessment. Those old systems mostly did not fit to the modern manufacturing environment. But in the ERP system a data warehouse (integrated collection of data) is created. Data is stored centrally and is extracted from different databases. The data is monitored, edited and then finally standardised for future use. The data is kept in a logical and user friendly format. It also allows nontechnical users to queries the databases which allow and provide the management information for business intelligence and helps Rolls Royce for operational, managerial and strategic decision making [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Business Process Management Business Process is the set of activities carried out by a business organisation that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials, or business commitments, and produces an output [Harmon (2003)]. Business Process Management is the process of managing the activities of business process. One of the major benefits of using ERP is the business process automation. So, ERP can be very useful for the management of business process, in fact, ERP itself defines the business process because the organisations business process is integrated in the ERP system. Rolls Royce had also faced difficulties to change their business process in order to fit the SAP. But they need to implement the ERP to automate their business process, to access accurate management information in less time and to add value in their supply chain. Value Chain Figure: Value Chain in an Organisation [adapted from: Porter ME (1985); Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press] The value chain model includes the exact activities in business organisation where we can apply the competitive strategies [Porter ME (1985)] and where we can implement the information system effectively to gain competitive advantages. These activities of the organisation defined by value chain model are distinguished in two different categories Primary activities and Supportive activities Primary activities are those activities which are involved in the process of production and distribution of the organisations product and the services. Those activities shown by the value chain model are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing and services. Inbound logistics define the receiving and storing of the materials for the production of the goods. Operations define the process to convert the inputs to the end products. Outbound logistics define the storing and distribution of end product. Sales and marketing describes the promotion and selling of the outbound logistics and last but not the least is the services which includes after sale repair and maintenance of the end products. Supportive activities support for the successful outcome of the primary activities which includes; infrastructure of organisation (administration and management), human resources (recruitment, hiring and training of employees), technology (technology used for the impro vement of product and production process) and procurement (gathering inputs for the organisation) [Laudon (2006)]. ERP system connects every department of the organisation with each other so every activity can be monitored at any time. The information about those activities provided by ERP system is used to find the point in the value chain where the cost can be lowered and value can be added. Moreover, it can be used to tie up the organisations supporting bodies such as suppliers, customers, partner organisations and distributers and the value chain of the organisation will be linked with the value chain of its supporting bodies. The use of the information system for the linkage between value chains will enable the organisation to reduce the cost for inventory and to response the customers demand promptly. Competitive Forces Figure: Competitive Forces [adapted from: Porter ME, Harvard Business review, January 2008] According to Porters competitive force model there are five major forces that are acting upon any business organisation which tries to diminish the organisations performance and these forces must be made ineffective by the organisation in order to survive in the market. These five forces are: Possibility of new entrance of competitor Bargaining power of customer Bargaining power of supplier Substitute products or services Position of the existing competitors Different strategies can be applied to reduce these forces. And use of information system can make ease for the organisation to determine the strategy that should be applied in order to gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce has very low risk of new entrants. Because of their brand name and their well establishment make hard for the possible competitor to compete with Rolls Royce. The high initial investment cost will also discourage the threat of new entrants into this market. Rolls-Royce collects real-time data of their engines which are operating all around the world. By analysing, sharing and acting upon this information, they can optimise the performance of their engines in service [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They have such a good information system to take care of the services needed by their customers, which reduces the bargaining power of customers and threat of substitute product and services. Information system in Rolls Royce and their direct communication with the suppliers are also helping them to maintain good relationship with their suppliers minimising their bargaining power. Rolls Royce is operating its business in a very competitive market in response to its competitors such as Pratt and Whitney, General Electric, CFM International. That is why they invest large amount of money for research and technology to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Rolls Royce has developed a balanced business portfolio and continues to maintain a steady focus on improvement in operational performance by modernisation of its facilities and focusing on managing the costs of operations and products. Continual investment in technology and strong protection of intellectual property, together with the establishment of long-term customer relationships, allow the Rolls Royce to make its products and services different from its competitors [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual Report 2009]. One of the examples for their investment in technology is the implementation of ERP removing their old systems investing huge amount of money in it. Competitive Advantage In a simple sentence, we can define competitive advantage in the business term as the advantage gained by a company in the market competition with their competitors. Any organisation can gain competitive advantage over their competitor by the following means: Reducing their production cost and then the cost of their product, Improving the quality of their product, Providing good after sale services, By differentiating their products from the product of their competitors, Growth of the company Companies that successfully alter their business around IT can achieve a significant window of competitive advantage [Tapscott D (2004)]. This doesnt mean that all those companies who use IT and IS in their business processes can gain competitive advantage but, the organisation who smartly and strategically use IT and IS will certainly gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce is operating in the market which wants them to deliver increased value in terms of cost, quality and delivery performance. So they always try to minimize the cost, increase the quality of their product and promptness in services. Management information system like ERP implemented in Rolls Royce provides the relevant information which directly or indirectly helping them to achieve those advantages. ERP benefits Rolls Royce to control the business operations and helps costs reductions. It is used for real time data management which also helps them to provide good and on time service to their customers. For instance, real time data management enables them to be more predictive they can know when engines are going to come along and they can provide the exact down time for the aircraft and the maintenance. According to the article by Ashford W (2007), the CIO of Rolls Royce, Mr Jonathan Mitchell states that We have traditionally operated factories independently, but the standa rdisation of systems and processes means we can now operate more effectively at the global scale. ERP is the integrated system for business processes so, moving of the factories, expanding the business and production throughout the globe is not so difficult. They have got a different department for the research purpose only, which always works on how to add value to the products? They are trying to make their product different from other competitors by inventing the engines that produce less pollution and without the processed information provided to them it wont be possible for them to carry out these tasks. Conclusion: The niche behind the success of Rolls Royce in its market place is the implementation of the latest technologies and the information system in its business processes, which provide a message to those who think that, investment in the IT and the IS is nothing but just waste of the organisations capital. Rolls Royce were using many systems since long however, looking at the feasibility and importance of ERP in strategic decision making, business process and connecting their departments as well as business functions, they invested large amount of money for developing and implementing ERP system replacing the old systems. The smart integration and implementation of Information System and Information Technology in a business organisation and its processes will lead it to the competitive advantage in its industry. Its very difficult to find any organisation which has faced up to the failure in spite of strategic implementation of IS in its business processes.

The Joys of Studying Literature :: College Admissions Essays

The Joys of Studying Literature One of the main joys of studying English is what could be called its liberating ambiguity. With Science or, to a greater extent, Mathematics, there is often only one ‘right’ answer, and all else is wrong. Even where there may be some scope for divergence, that scope is often minute; the answer must be correct to a specific number of decimal places and/or certain range of digits. English, however, is an almost boundless field of possibilities in which one may argue as one pleases, so long as one is able to back up that argument. Even if the argument is somewhat radical or unexpected, it can be argued, and indeed read, with as much reverence as a more standard or typical answer if the evidence to support the claims is there. This ambiguity is what gives a real sense of freedom to studying, in particular, literature, but also extends of course to more language-oriented aspects in certain cases. For, although one is unlikely to contest the purpose of a particular grammatical function, one may discuss how the use of that particular function, or indeed the lack of it, can highlight deeper issues within a text. Thus it is possible to construct an argument based simply on the lack of, for example, a certain function or word. To be able to argue about what is effectively not there indicates that the world of criticism is one of much opportunity and open possibility. One could not, for example, write an essay so easily on the lack of river names on a map or of the implications of not writing out an equation in full. Another aspect of studying English which makes it so enjoyable is that one is able to use this licence of ambiguity with a range, and indeed a choice, of texts. As well as studying the numerous prescribed texts, one is able to make reference to one’s broad reading experience, or even, in certain cases, base an essay or argument upon a favourite text. It is also possible

Cubism :: essays research papers

Cubism (a name suggested by Henri Matisse in 1909) is a non-objective approach to painting developed originally in France by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque around 1906. The early, "pre-Cubist" period (to 1906) is characterized by emphasizing the process of construction, of creating a pictorial rhythm, and converting the represented forms into the essential geometric shapes: the cube, the sphere, the cylinder, and the cone. Between 1909 and 1911, the analysis of human forms and still lifes (hence the name -- Analytical Cubism) led to the creation of a new stylistic system which allowed the artists to transpose the three-dimensional subjects into the flat images on the surface of the canvas. An object, seen from various points of view, could be reconstructed using particular separate "views" which overlapped and intersected. The result of such a reconstruction was a summation of separate temporal moments on the canvas. Picasso called this reorganized form the &qu ot;sum of destructions," that is, the sum of the fragmentations. Since color supposedly interferred in purely intellectual perception of the form, the Cubist palette was restricted to a narrow, almost monochromatic scale, dominated by grays and browns. A new phase in the development of the style, called Synthetic Cubism, began around 1912. In the center of the painters' attention was now the construction, not the analysis of the represented object -- in other words, creation instead of recreation. Color regained its decorative function and was no longer restricted to the naturalistic description of the form. Compositions were still static and centered, but they lost their depth and became almost abstract, although the subject was still visible in synthetic, simplified forms. The construction requirements brought about the introduction of new textures and new materials (cf. paper collages). Cubism lasted till 1920s and had a profound effect on the art of the avant-garde. Russian painters were introduced to Cubism through the works bought and displayed by wealthy patrons like Shchukin and Morozov. As they did with many other movements, the Russians interpreted and transformed Cubism in their own unique way. In particular, the Russian Cubists carried even further the abstract potential of the style. Some of the most outstanding Cubist works came from the brush of Malevich, Popova, and Udal'tsova.

Sonography Career

Sonography The first time I started college I had a different career path. It was not after my pregnancies that I decided to make the change to sonography. I think sonography is a career that really fits my expectations, and to make sure I am in the right path I will research this career in depth. Tests and evaluations in sonography are in writing and practical. They are prepared to measure the student’s understanding of the material, and the knowledge in manipulating the transducer (Craig 53). At the beginning I was curious about how the test would be.I now know the reading tests are normal types of tests: objective, which is cover multiple choices or true and false, and the subjective, which are the essays questions. I also found, I will have some tests on computer (Craig 46-47) which I think is a great idea because I will get accustomed to the way that certifying test are now presented, also it will help me to be successful in my career. The practical exams will help me to familiarize in working with patients on a day to day work habit, and the writing and computer exams will prepare me for my certifying examination post graduation.Sonography has different types of sonograms in which I can specialize. There are eight types of diagnostic ultrasounds specialties, but there are three which are the common practiced: abdominal, obstetric and gynecologic, and cardiac (Craig 152). This is great for me, because obstetric and gynecologic is the type of ultrasound I would like to specialize. Also, since this type of ultrasound is one of the most common I think it will be easier find a job in this field. Registration is very important in the sonography field. Graduates are encouraged to take their registry examinations as soon as possible after completion of their training (Craig 53). † In my opinion this is great because the knowledge of the sonographer is tested again giving us the opportunities to have prepared sonographers in the health facilities. Sin ce â€Å"employers prefer candidates registered through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Morsch)† being registry is an open door for sonographers trying to get a job. American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) offers the opportunity to sonographers to earn three different types of credentials.The credentials are Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer, and Registered Vascular Technologist. In order to be award with one of them the graduate needs to pass two exams: one general and one specialty exam that depend on the credential wanted (ARDMS). This I think is a wonderful requisite because it elevates the prestige of sonographers. As more credentials I can get more knowledge I will have. Salary is another point in my research. â€Å"In 2008, the starting salary for a diagnostic medical sonographer was $43,600 (Diagnostic Medical Sonography). Even though this is not the most important point f or me I have to admit it is within the range I was expecting for salary. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the annual mean wage in Florida is $56,990 which breaks down in $27. 40 an hour (Bureau). This is better than the figures from 2008 and if salary follows this line by the time I graduate it should be even greater. The outlook of this job is great. â€Å"Employment of diagnostic medical sonographers is expected to increase by about 18 percent through 2018-faster than average for all occupations (Bureau)†.This is about 2. 25 percent per year. Sonograms will become the most popular tool in the medicine field to check the human body since is not harmful and very effectively. The truth is that â€Å"sonography is in high demand trough out the country since the uses of sonography are expanded (Sonography). † Another factor that will help on the growth of the sonography is the population who is aging. Older people needs more tests and Florida is one of the favo rite states for retired people, so I would say that we will have a nice increase on the growth rate.Learn about searching jobs I think is important. After I graduate I would like to know the most important factors when looking for a job. As I found there are many tips for a successful job search. A resume accompanied of a personalized letter, always listen to the interviewer and answer the questions straight and precise, choose professional clothes for the interview day, negotiate the salary if it is no right for you, and always get the final offer in writing (Craig 213-216).Responsibilities are part of all jobs. Sonographers once they graduate start taking responsibilities which include preparing reports, organized daily work schedule, and report equipment failure(Craig 205). Searching this I notice that sonographers don’t only make reports and scans in fact I will do more than what I thought was my responsibilities. Sonography also has disadvantages. Musculoskeletal injury has been affecting sonographers for years.The amount of sonographers in the country is a small number compare to other professions in health, but the amount of injured sonographers is that big relative to the total number of sonographers that brought the attention of NIOSH. To protect sonographers from musculoskeletal pain NIOSH recommend a few safety measures for under graduates to avoid injuries (Musculoskeletal). This is really worry because I want a profession not an illness. I really think the programs should emphasize more on safety rules to avoid MSI from happen so frequently.I have learned plenty of information with my sonography research paper. Now I like even more my career. I believe I will have a great future if I keep going in this direction. Sonography is a very popular job, and learn the inside of the human body it is always amazing. [1010] Work Cited ARDMS,†Credential and Examinations. †Web. 15 Nov. 2011. https://ardms. org/credentials_examinations/ Burea u of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook,2010-11edition, Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. http://www. ls. gov/oco/ocos273. htm Craig Marveen,†Essentials of Sonography and Patient Care†. St. Louis: Saunders,2006. Print. â€Å"Diagnostic Medical Sonography. † CAAHEP. Org. CAAHEP, 2009. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. †¹ http://www. caahep. org/content. aspx? ID=23 Morsch,Laura. †10 Best Paying Jobs for Associate Degress. †CNN. com. Cable News Network,05 May 2006. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://www. cnn. com/2006/us/careers/05/04/cb. associates â€Å"Musculoskeletal pain hits 80% of sonographers. † Occupational Health Management 1 Feb. 2007. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Oct. 2011.

Daily Dairy

First day back at placement after Easter Holiday, I greeted children in to class as their parents dropped them in to class in the morning. Straight away children where learning through play. My morning duty was to supervise children and play with them. There was Lego, foam on a table, a table with sand and toys set out for the children. Girl A speaks Bengali at the moment learning to speak English. But she said whistle in Bengali as she was pouring sand through a windmill toy. Girl B described the foam as â€Å"sticky† as she was touching the foam. Girl A said â€Å"let’s play with water! †, again she said that in Bengali.So I helped her and translated in Bengali for her to repeat after me and say, â€Å"Let’s†¦ play†¦ with†¦ water! † She attempted and said, â€Å"play†¦ with†¦ water! † I then praised her and said, â€Å"Well done! † While Girl A, B, C & D where playing with fishes in the water bath they were s eeing who catches how many fishes. So I instructed them to take turns and count how many they caught in their nets. After play I assisted Girl B to wash her hands making sure the water was not to hot and that she rinsed all the foam off her hands. Then I instructed her to dry her hands with the towel.At morning play, I was with a group of children. I pointed out to them as we were admiring the sun that the clouds where moving. So I instructed them to steady their eyes on the clouds and watch how slowly the clouds move. After break was numeracy time. The children where divided in three groups in different areas f the class room. One of the teachers had to go to the loo so she left me with her group and instructed me to sing â€Å"five little ducks† with them which they enjoyed as I exaggerated my hand gestures. After the teacher came back she did a sharing and counting activity using bears/animals & a container.Boy A understands more about equableness than the other children i n his group. After group activity children had phonics time with the whole class just before lunch. They where sounding out the first letter of their names. E. g. â€Å"T†¦ T†¦ Tahmina† and then deciding whether it was a bouncy or stretchy sound. â€Å"T†¦ T†¦ is a bouncy sound† During phonics another teacher called me over and instructed me to set the construction play table outside ready for lunch play. So I chose a box full of Interstars and tipped the lot on the table outside in the nursery playground.Then Miss put out costumes in a corner for the children to express themselves as different characters. I believe this is a great way to build their confidence. Before lunch I supervised children to wash there hands and dry them. Also I was mopping the floor regularly for the children’s safety in case they slipped because water was being sprinkled on the floor. At the lunch hall, I asked the children what they would like to eat giving them a choice of, tuna rap or chicken. Then I gave the children a slice of bread and some salad, bearing in mind there was a child allergic to bread on my table.As well as working 1:1 with Girl A helping her eat cause she was getting bored I also helped other children cut their chicken into small pieces making it easy for them to eat and pick up. During lunch play I was instructed by the teacher to water the plants with the children which I very much enjoyed with the children as they enjoyed the activity to. I didn’t experience any difficulties during that particular activity, but if there were any concerns or problems I would have asked any of the teachers for advice and support.