Lice cycle costing and kaizen free essay sample

Life cycle costing is a cost management approach which includes all costs and ensures that all those costs are managed over the life cycle of the product. Product life cycle begins from conception of the product until its abandonment which can be referred as ‘from cradle to grave‘. Product life cycle has four stages: 1) Product planning and initial concept design It involves process of identifying any underlying conditions, assumption, limitations and constraints such as minimum asset performance, maximum capital costs that might restrict the range of acceptable options to be evaluated. It is a valuable reference for better decision whether the plan should be carried on. This includes the research and development cost market research costs. 2) Product design and development Starting from preparation of development contract until equipment is ready to be introduced to the business. It is also a stage where the factory trials take place. Cost of product design, prototyping, and market testing costs. We will write a custom essay sample on Lice cycle costing and kaizen or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 3) Production All the manufacturing costs related to producing the products such as direct material, labor, overhead and administrative costs will be incurred. 4) Distribution and customer (or logistical) support This stage is where product are sent to customers and ready to be used. All marketing, selling and distribution costs are incurred at this stage. As for logical support cost, it involves delivery and transportation costs, warehousing costs, dismantling cost and costs for abandonment of the project and some equipment might need to be disposed of or recycled. All expenditure for resources that are likely to arise must be addressed. Future costs are also taken into consideration and will be discounted to the present value. LCC includes all the upstream costs and downstream costs. Upstream costs involved in producing a good include research and development costs, such as salaries paid to research engineers. Downstream costs, on the other hand, are incurred later in the product lifecycle. These include marketing and advertising costs. All costs and savings can then be directly compared and fully-informed decisions can be made. The reasons why companies adopt LCC are because it enables the management to make assessment of the profitability of a product over its life cycle. This helps managers to decide and choose on which products to produce and can increase company’s sales revenue. LCC also could prevent losses from project abandonment or suspension in work in progress due to insufficient funds. By using LCC, all expenditure will be taken into account hence, all the expenditures will be fully disbursed as and when the product life cycle ends. The graph below illustrates life cycle costs and cost commitment for a typical product. 1. 2 Elements of Life Cycle Costing The purpose of calculating this technique is to analyze all the costs that have to be borne by the company in acquiring a new asset. According to Nijhar Charavorti (2009), this technique serves as the decision making tool in which it combines the conflicts by emphasizing on the facts, money and time. For example, to compute the ’cradle to grave’ costs of an equipment, the company should include not only the purchase price (money), but also the any costs afterwards which will be incurred (facts) throughout its lifespan (time). The ‘costs afterwards’ which are inclusive of operation costs, maintenance costs, and disposal cost, are calculated using Net Present Value at discounted factor. There are three elements in Life Cycle Costing which are: a) Initial costs This element represents the acquisition cost, construction cost, installation cost and/or design cost of equipment. These one-off initial costs will only be incurred by the company at the beginning of the acquisition of the assets. b) Operation and maintenance costs Meanwhile, operation and maintenance costs which also include labor and training costs will be repeatedly incurred by the company throughout the lifespan of the acquired assets. Maintaining of the assets is necessarily required so that the asset will perform at its best level and the company could fully utilize it. On top of that, training costs refer to the cost incurred by the company to equip its employees with the required skill and knowledge pertaining to the usage of the newly acquired asset. If the asset needs to be updated regularly, thus the employees’ knowledge also needs to be up-to-date so that the company could make the full use of the asset. c) Disposal costs At the end of the economic life of the asset, there are certain costs that need to be borne by the company, such as recycling costs and/or dismantling costs. These costs also will be incurred once by the company. However, if the company has decided to sell off the asset, the company will obtain gain in disposal provided that the proceeds obtained from disposing the asset exceeds the salvage value of the asset. 1. 4 Advantages and disadvantages The advantages of LCC are as follows: A management tool. LCC assists managers to select the best project option among several alternatives which ensures effective planning and prospective benefit. Facilitate effective procurement decision. LCC assess and anticipate future resources requirement for production. Therefore, it helps management in determining what to purchase. As a result, managers can make effective and efficient decision and redundant purchasing can be avoided. Assist management to identify factors that increase costs. LCC requires detail research on cost on each product stage involved hence, this helps in identifying hidden cost. Managers can identify costs that can reduce costs in other stages of product life cycle. For example, by focusing cost on designing stage, the company can reduce after sales cost such as warranty. However, there are several drawbacks of LCC which are: Challenging. It needs more effort from management and critical decisions have to be made in order to obtain accurate data. This is because there is lack of awareness in the management on how to calculate life cycle costs. Time consuming. It is time consuming to gather information on the actual costs involved in the product life cycle from all the related departments. Not easy to design products that have longer lives. This is due to the difficulty in predicting the changes in external internal environment. (E. g. customers’ needs and preferences, inflation effect, impact of competitors’ action) Difficult to estimate operational maintenance cost. It is difficult to determine the discount rate as management need to compare the nominal value and discounted value. Hence, it will incur more cost and be more time consuming. 1. 4 Implementation of Life Cycle Costing in Malaysia It is observed that Life Cycle Costing (LCC) management system is actively being used by the construction industry in Malaysia compared with other type of industries. The industry is developing rapidly and become one sector that contributes to the economic growth in Malaysia currently. Through this LCC method, all the factors, maintenance and demolishing cost for a building projects is accounted at the designing stage to obtain a more accurate projection of the cost of construction. The construction industry must implement the LCC method to construct the structure and infrastructure projects as to avoid any losses to the industry itself and also to the government because of the cost of failure that might arise before, during or after the completing the projects. An example of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) implementation system is by Willmott Dixon Construction Company. It is a well-known privately owned construction, housing and property development and maintenance business, around United Kingdom and has created since 1852. The company implements the LCC methods as they can accurately quantify the embodied environmental and cost impacts of a building throughout the project design. They will design cost effective alternative of the projects as they concern with the overall monetary cost of ownership of a building across operation, maintenance and demolition. With this would help them to reduce and avoid any extra cost of failure in the future, thus to maximize the company profits on the projects assigned. In conclusion, LCC management method can be used to provide the tools to managers maintenance budgets, ownership costs, and present decision making scenarios in financial perspective to achieve the lowest long term cost of ownership. The LCC includes not only the operational costs but also other costs that would involve throughout the project life. 2. 0 Kaizen costing 2. 1 Definition and Background Kaizen costing is implying the concept of Kaizen which means continuous improvement in every aspect. It was derived from Japanese philosophy that originally comes from Japanese culture and Japanese practice of management. ‘Kai’ means change and ‘Zen’ means better. It was developed by Masaaki Imai and was first implemented in several businesses after the Second World War II. Kaizen has been applied in general practice as a guide for doing things in daily life as what have been practiced by Japanese. For instance, the practice of reverse parking leads to time saving and providing shutter buses to solve parking problem. The Kaizen concept practices top down as well as bottom up communication. It assumes that person that deals with the job will be more expert in their area and they could provide more accurate information relating to their field of expertise. Suggestions and ideas that came from each employee will be taken into consideration and goal compatible ideas will be selected and applied. Kaizen costing focuses on lowering the cost of the product by implementing cost reducing strategy in any level possible. It applies the principle of continuous improvement by doing little things better and setting and achieving increasingly higher standards. It encourages continual cost reduction which occurs after a product design has been completed and for products that are now in production stage. For instance, working with suppliers to reduce the costs in their processes, or implementing less costly product re-designs of the product, or reducing waste costs. Cost-reduction target are set and applied monthly continuous improvement are applied to meet those target. It also focuses on teams (quality circles), promotes team work and team spirit in the same time recognizes the individual contribution. By applying this concept, it also implies that the firm needs to strive towards perfection by eliminating waste in the work place. 2. 2 Elements of Kaizen Costing Steven Stephenson (n. d.  ) points out that there are five elements in Kaizen costing which is the basic, fundamental, systematic approach for productivity, quality and safety improvement in all types of business. Kaizen costing even includes social activities where the five elements are applied in every aspect of a person’s life. Each element is equally important and acts as a continuous process or cycle in busin ess. Those five elements are: a) Seiri – Sort out This technique suggests the firm to differentiate between necessary things with those is unnecessary and subsequently, discard all the unnecessary things accordingly. This sort out activity should cover all parts of work stations. For infrequently used items, the company should attach tags and put it away in one place so that it then can be reassigned when the company intends to use it. This activity would ensure efficiency can be improved which will then increase quality of work, and one of simpler way to spot problems. b) Seiton – Set in order Kaizen promotes a productive and effective workflow in the working environment. As mentioned by Aiden S. (n. d. ), ‘a place for everything, and everything in its place’ best be defined as the place for each item should be clearly labeled or tagged and arranged in the manner which promotes efficient workflow. The employees also are reminded to keep the important materials nearby so that efficiency and effectiveness can be maintained or improved. c) Seiso – Shine The company is suggested to keep the workplace tidy and organized. It is also recommended for the employees to identify the sources of contamination such as malfunction of equipment or leakages, which might dangerously, affected the safety of the employees of the company. Thus, in order to keep workplace systematically clean and to maintain the way they were, regular cleaning could be done. d) Seiketsu – Standardise This healthy and productive work practices should be consistent and standardized. Meaning that, everyone in the company should know his responsibilities by creating schedule and assign tasks accordingly. Hence, it is suggested that the company should put the standard into black and white in order for the employees to follow the same rules to keep them in the right track. e) Shitsuke – Sustain All the positive work practices need to be sustained, and to ensure that it serves on the long-term basis, the company may regularly review the standards established and keep updating them. These 5S elements should be set as one of the goal of the company. In addition to ensure sustaining the positive workflow in healthy working environment, the management may analyze the result of the implementation of these 5S, and train the workers as well as emphasize the importance of having 5S in the company. It should be noted that this Kaizen theory is applicable to all as it is not only focusing on reducing the costs or wastages, but it is also promoting a healthy working environment. It covers all aspects of life as it is understandable that if the employees are happy with their working environment, they will become more productive and hence, this will reflect the good reputation of the company. 2. 3 Advantages and Disadvantages The following are the advantages of Kaizen: Higher employee morale and job satisfaction The employees will find work to be easier and more enjoyable since Kaizen encourages group and individual contribution when seeking idea for improvement. Being able to speak their mind, they will find the job as more satisfying and result in higher employee morale. Thus, it will also lead to lower turnover rate. Widely applicable. The Kaizen concept can be used in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing company. For instance, it can be used in production stage in manufacturing company and also in hospitality services. Provide immediate results By continually solving large number of small problems, immediate results can be achieved. Reduce waste and inefficiencies By eliminating activities that does not add value and unproductive in practice, Kaizen assists management in managing the inventory well, helps to reduce waiting time, and transportation cost, efficiently manage worker motion, enhances employee skills and solves overproduction issues. Meanwhile, the disadvantages of Kaizen are as follows: Resistance to change The Kaizen practice is difficult to be implemented in management due to reluctance to accept changes which is because of difference in culture and difficulty in understanding concept of Kaizen Too much suggestion The managers will receive a lot of suggestions and ideas when discussing the problem together with the employees. This will lead to confusion and waste of time when choosing the best suggestion and ideas. Time consuming The managers will need to spend certain amount of time to select the best ideas which are compatible with organization’s goals 2. 4 Implementation of Kaizen Costing in Malaysia Kaizen Costing has been accepted by most of the manufacturers in Malaysia, which it is the second most popular modern management accounting technique that being practice among the manufacturers in small medium industries in Malaysia. (Refer to appendixes, Table 1. ) Besides that, based on research made, in Malaysia, Kaizen system is being used by majority of the manufacturers in the automobiles and transportation components industry as compared with the other type of industry. This may be due to the nature of the automobiles and transportation industry, in which it has short products life cycles. Hence, new and improvised products are always needed as to keep the businesses sustain in the industry. Therefore, to cope with this need, manufacturers have to be alert and continuously improve the productivity through Kaizen management system. An example of the Kaizen implementation system is the Toyota Production System (TPS) by Toyota Company, in which it is a system for thorough waste elimination, as to minimize cost of production and increase the products quality, yet take upon the humanization of work after the modification of the cost management system. (Shimizu, 2000. ) In factories around the world, Toyota Company consistently makes the highest-quality cars with the fewest defects of any competing manufacturer, while using fewer man-hours, less on-hand inventory, as they are using the Kaizen system in their production activity. (Shimizu, 2000.  ) In conclusion, the implementation of Kaizen Costing helps to improve the company performance in terms of production capacity, cost efficiency and product quality continually. Thus, would achieve the cost reduction target. Other than that, with the good corporation between the management and employees through the Kaizen strategies would help to empower and motivates the w orker in order to develop better improvement in their job performance. It also provides highest customer satisfaction because companies which apply continuous improvement approach will always produce better products and services for their valuable customer.

The Compelling Motives of Imperialism essays

The Compelling Motives of Imperialism essays The presence of Europe in Africa in the late nineteenth century was one of extreme power. The countries of France, Britain, and Germany had especially large claims to the African continent during this time. The motives of imperialism for these countries greatly define Europe at this time. Insatiable desires for economic markets, power and political struggles, the motivating belief in Social Darwinism, and the European idea of superiority were the driving forces at the European home front in the late nineteenth century. Many of the causes for imperialism in Africa were evident in Joseph Conrads turn of the century novel, Heart of Darkness. Successful domination of Africa was not attainable prior to the eighteen hundreds. The obstacles of travel and disease were too powerful to overcome. However, with the development of the steamship and the protection from malaria in the form of quinine, Europeans tackled Africa with a renewed energy (Sanderson Imperialism notes). A European council congregated in 1885 and drew up the Berlin Act, which was responsible for the carving of Africa into pieces of land for the major imperialistic powers in Europe (Lehmann The Scramble for Africa). Political and nationalistic rivals were fueled and each European power desired to prosper greater than their competitors did. Political goals were often achieved through imperialism. Countries competed for strategic passages and overseas bases in locations throughout Africa (Lehmann European Imperialism). The goals of achieving the most power and wealth from various regions through imperialistic measures were realized during the age of imperialism. A new source of economic resources for ever growing European wants also encouraged imperialism. Salt, spices, gold, silver, and diamonds were constantly searched for on all continents that the Europeans explored. Africa, Asia, and the Americas all fell victim to...

Global Business Cultural Analysis Research Paper

Global Business Cultural Analysis - Research Paper Example The history of Singapore is very remarkable, the nation gained independence on 9th August 1965, following its succession from Malaysia. Soon after withdrawing from Malaysia, the fledging nation of Singapore had to face tremendous economic problems. The Buddhist country fought years in order to eliminate mass employment and to achieve economic stability. To make matters worse, the newly independent country had to face ingrained problems such as scarcity of houses, land and natural resources such as petroleum. The establishment of World Trade Organization has ensured economic globalization. To cope and stay abreast in this era of globalization, Singapore has drawn up an extensive legal framework for its economic policies. September 11th events changed the world and since then Singapore has face terrorists threats posed by the Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization known as Jemaah Islamiyah, mostly abbreviated as JI. Singapore is a Southeast Asian island country, consisting of 63 islands accounting for a total land area of 712.4 sq.km. On the north of Singapore is the Straits of Johor which separates it from Malaysia and the island country is separated on the southern side from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait. Singapore is a highly urbanized country, which faces serious problems posed by land scarcity. According to June 2010 census, Singapore has an approximate population of over 5.077 million, including both permanent residents and foreign workers residing in the country. Singapore has an annual population growth rate of 1.8% accounting for both permanent residents and foreign workers. While the annual population growth rate of only permanent Singaporean residents and citizens is 1%. The inc rease in population is the major reason for posing problems such as unemployment and land scarcity to house more people. The country has a lowland terrain and has a tropical climate. Singapore

Development of a Model Aviation Safety Program for General Aviation Research Proposal

Development of a Model Aviation Safety Program for General Aviation Companies - Research Proposal Example The proposed project is principally concerned with the development of a Model Aviation Safety Program for General Aviation organizations. It has been viewed that a dramatic innovation process of change is currently taking place in the international aviation sector for the purpose of assisting the airspace to comply with future demands. In relation to aviation safety, the two utmost priority areas are the human factors and the technology factors. In relation to the human factors, the errors caused manually could eventually lead towards safety issues. In relation to the technological factors, when the technology fails to perform its functions, it also gives rise to a significant degree of safety issues. Thus, it can be stated that proper maintenance of the technology gadgets in an airplane and in the control room along with adequate training to the individuals related with the aviation industry is essential for exhibiting an advanced aviation safety program (Aviation Safety Corps, n.d. ). The research as well as the development of the project will intend to provide a brief description of the importance or the need of developing various models or safety programs relating to aviation sector for the general aviation companies. Various theories, models as well as relevant concepts will be used in the project in order to meet with the project outcome. The project will address the concern towards the development of various programs relating to aviation safety for the general aviation companies. Moreover, the project will endeavor to reveal critical thinking, delivering comprehensive as well as realistic information with the purpose of helping in recognizing the crucial steps about developing aviation safety programs that are often signified as quite essential for the general aviation companies. By the implementation of the sources

Results and Discussion of Research Data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Results and Discussion of Research Data - Essay Example gaining a wider attention due to major allegations as well as criticism associated with racial discrimination amid different football clubs in the UK (Jones & Smith, 2011; Bebber, 2008). Therefore, the aim of this research study is to critically evaluate the issue of racism in football in Sheffield, UK with extracting and discussing four particular themes from the collected primary data. In order to attain the aforesaid aim, the discussion of the data incorporates a set of objectives relating to different research areas associated with the issue of racism in football in Sheffield, UK. These objectives have been clearly elaborated in the following: In relation to the interview process conducted for retrieving data from male, football supporter/players aged 26 years, the questions have been structured in light with the key aims and objectives of the study. According to the data revealed from the primary data collection technique, the process of conducting interview with male individuals was highly aimed with investigating their attitudes in the Sheffield area towards the football matches, specifically on racism aspect and its impact on the sport. In this context, the interview questions have been developed by strong compliance with ethical codes and also eliminating such perceptions that might raise personal interests or any sort of racial discrimination. The questionnaire survey for this research study was conducted with the participation of total 200 respondents who were mainly the supporters, viewers and the players associated with British football of Sheffield. The results obtained from the questionnaire survey thus reflected valuable facts about the issue of racism in Sheffield football. According to the data revealed from the questionnaire survey, majority of the participants i.e. 70.3% of the total 135 respondents are likely to watch football matches on televisions. Whereas, 22.9% are regular attendees and 46.4% are likely to attend football matches on

Minimize Counterproductive Or Deviant Behaviour Management Essay

Minimize Counterproductive Or Deviant Behaviour Management Essay Counterproductive and deviant behaviours can be found all around us, but matter largely in professional fields. When in an organisation, any deviant behaviour is detected; it is an indication toward a serious threat to organisation as well as the staff from different perspectives. In human resources, deviant behaviours of employees and managing them have gained increased attention due to a range of reasons. For the success of an organisation, management of deviant and counterproductive behaviours is very critical. In this essay, the causes behind deviant behaviours, their influence on the employees, the person and organisation as a whole and the ways to manage/ minimise these deviant behaviours will be addressed. Counterproductive behaviours have become a workplace norm and its popularity is rising gradually. It is very obvious that workplace situations vary and therefore, they leave an impact on employees as well. These deviant behaviours by the employees not just harm the organisation but also affect other organisational members (Spector Fox, 2002). Counterproductive Workplace Behaviours are the acts by the members of an organisation, which are against the organisational legitimate interest (Sackett, 2002). These are intentional as well as unintentional behaviours, resulting from different causes and motivations. It has been identified in journal of organisational behaviour (2008) that an estimated 75 per cent of the employees do engage in such deviant harmful behaviours like; unexcused absenteeism, sabotage, theft, and vandalism cooperate (McGurn, 1988; Harper, 1990). Other such behaviours that have been reportedly found are sexual abuse of women (Gruber, 1990), organisational cynicism (Wilkerson, 2002), withholding efforts (Kidwell Bennett, 1993), spreading rumours (Skarlicki and Folger, 1997), physical assault and verbal abuse (Spector and Fox, 2002), lying (Depaulo and Depaulo, 1989), and absenteeism (Johns, 1997). These behaviours violate organisational working standards and can be antisocial (Robinson Bennett, 1995). Also they may affect the overall performance, decision making and even the organisational financials which can be very costly and harmful for the organisations wellbeing. Many researchers have identified a direct link between the personality traits of the employees and the Counterproductive behaviour at workplace (Salgado, 2002; Colbert, Mount, Harter, Witt, and Barrick, 2004; Dalal, 2005; Blickle, Schlegel, Fassbender, and Klein, 2006; Berry, Ones, Sackett, 2007). However, it has also been viewed that many times, even intrinsically honest employees are forced to behave inaptly, if the work environment or management are unjust towards them; or if they have been treated poorly. Managers are also seen to be the ones creating such workplace environment unintentionally where they are basically contributing towards their employees deviant acts (Greenberg, 1997). Therefore only personality is not a sole predictor of deviant workplace behaviour (Robinson and Greenberg, 1998) and many other factors contribute in counterproductive workplace behaviour. The management in turn fires the honest and capable employees so as to diminish these deviant organisational behaviours, but counteractively they need to put in a lot of efforts towards identifying the real causes of these behaviours and should wisely minimise these acts. The focus of this essay throughout the rest of the paragraphs is to critically identify the causes behind counterproductive workplace behaviour, the extent to which these behaviours influence the workplace norm, its overall power and how these behaviours can be minimised. Therefore, in a sequential manner, all of these points will be analysed. Countless factors influence counterproductive behaviour which consists of acts that harm or are intend to harm the organisation or its stakeholders. A vital aspect is to identify the reasons behind that, why employees are involved in these deviant behaviours. There are certain factors that influence counterproductive behaviour, identified by Litzky, Eddleston Kidder (2006), which are under the direct control of manager that may unconsciously force the employees into engaging in deviant behaviours like; unsatisfactory compensation or rewarding structures, unfair employee treatment, negative attitudes, social pressures to conform, job performance ambiguity and violation of employees trust. Competing for financial rewards causes employees to think only for themselves with the belief that nonstandard behaviours are compulsory to get ahead in their career fight (Crossen, 1993; Peterson, 2002). Managers are identified to be often as the main cause behind workplace theft, because many of them ignore such issues in order to conform to the social pressures, and thus encourage other employees to engage in similar deviant behaviours (Greenberg, 1997). These research studies have found that financial rewards are one of the prime reasons behind the counterproductive behaviours of employees. Not only for competing and leaving the colleagues behind, but also in the run of gaining more financial rewards, these employees sometimes do not feel reluctant to take aggressive actions. Deviant behaviours is one such acts that these employees are found to be practicing. Another research study (Fodchuck, 2007) revealed that both the employee characteristics and the workplace environmental aspects are linked with counterproductive behaviour in an organisation. Organisational factors like job design, workplace injustice and perceived stress initiates these behaviours and individual characteristics that helps in triggering CWB consists of self-control, will power, sensation seeking (Marcus and Schuler, 2004), and motives (Rioux and Penner, 2001). All these researchers have argued that these environmental aspects are increasingly linked with the deviant behaviour in the organisation. A management journal, (Robinson OLeary-Kelly, 1998) termed Counterproductive workplace conducts as antisocial behaviour, because these acts are harmful for the organisation. As per this study, the antisocial behaviours of employees are influenced in work groups through social learning and social information processing method. The workgroup largely influence an individual employees antisocial behaviour, and CWB of a workgroup is a significant predictor of the individual employees CWB at work. A study conducted in 2008 (Skarlicki, Barclay Pugh) explain downsizings and layoffs as the major factor behind counterproductive behaviour by the employees because most victims, who lose their jobs, are loyal workers and consider this management decision as an unfair treatment towards them. These employees in turn engage in organisational retaliation as revenge to their wrongdoer. Their negative emotions emerge by bad mouthing about the organisation to the organisational members and others, conveying a strong negative impact of the company. This retaliation is very similar to previously defined antisocial behaviour (Giacalone and Greenberg, 1996), counterproductive behaviour (Fox and Spector, 2005) and organisational deviance (Robinson and Bennett, 1995) thus overlapping with the duskier side of the organisational behaviour theories with potentially negative consequences for the organisation and other individuals. Many times in such situations even the informational justice and supp orting information does not help to be effective in reducing this retaliating behaviour (Dalal, 2005). All of these research studies have discussed that these factors extremely play their role to generate deviant behaviour among employees. Another study by Smithikrai (2008) suggests that personality traits and Counterproductive workplace behaviour have a direct link with each other; however, situational moderators in which counterproductive workplace behaviour takes place can increase the cogency of personality measures in predicting deviant behaviours. Situational factors in relation with personality traits are strong stimulators of counterproductive workplace behaviours. Individual behaviour reflects relevant traits when the situation is week, whereas when the situations are strong then the behaviour of the employees are clear, and they meet the behavioural demand of the situation (Blickle et al, 2006; Robinson Greenberg, 1998; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Therefore situational strength is very much critical in identifying these deviating individual behaviours, and in strong situations the employee performance gets monitored where Counterproductive workplace behaviour is not tolerated (Berry et al, 2007; Greenberg, 1997) . Wilkerson, Evans Davis (2008) conducted a study testing evidence of the co-workers social influence on other employees bad mouthing, organisational cynicism and supervisor assessments of employees organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The study suggests that the badmouthing behaviour of close co-workers largely impacts other co-workers, influencing their similar behaviours, due to the result of social information processing. Further the study advises that there also becomes a possibility of a chain reaction effect, where the organisational cynics are likely to engage other in their bad mouthing behaviour, creating other cynics within the organisation. This results in negative performance outcomes, reduction in management trust and further intentions of engaging in OCB (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). Bad mouthing has found to be one of the critical factors behind generating deviant behaviour. Yet another research by Tepper, Henle, Lambert, Giacalone and Duffy (2008) states that abusive supervision consequences in lower level of employee commitment with its employer, leading to little desire of working with the organisation, lower level of attachment with the organisation resulting to greater deviance against the organisation. This explains that effective employee commitment is estimated to facilitate the relationship between abusive management and organisational deviation. Abusive supervision is yet another costly workplace factor impacting negatively on employees, employer as well as organisational performance (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). Research study by jones (2009) have a different viewpoint, stating that there are different relations among different types of injustice, desire toward revenge and counterproductive work behaviours with ones supervisor and organisation separately. The results identified that counterproductive workplace behaviours related with organisation can be minimised through increase in procedural justice whereas behaviours related to supervisors can be minimised when the supervisor treat their employees fairly, with dignity, and respect as well as provide justifications for decisions that influences them (Litzky et al, 2006; Crossen, 1993). There are many factors identified that influence instigate deviant behaviours by the employees (Peterson, 2002). Of all these factors influencing Counterproductive behaviours every aspect has strong and weak impact over the behaviours, depending on the situation and the individual (Crossen, 1993). Age, cognitive ability, self-control, emotional intelligence and personality all correlates and create strong or weak affect over these behaviours by the employees (Fodchuk, 2007). Therefor situational moderator and personality mediator helps in increasing or decreasing the power of these behaviours by the employees (Rioux Penner, 2001). Reduction of these deviating behaviours in an organisation begins with recruitment and selection phase of hiring new employees through the use of personality testing, cognitive ability screening, and integrity screening (Marcus Schuler, 2004). But since situational factors emerge out of routinely day to day operations of the organisation including organisational constraints, illegitimate tasking, lack of compensation and rewards, interpersonal conflicts and lack of organisational/management justice thus organisation needs to involve much more into minimising these behaviours (Robinson et al, 1998). Mangers are equally liable and in a better position to control and minimise these behaviours within the organisation (Giacalone Greenberg, 1996). If the outcome is similar by different employees on a particular position, then this can be termed as a warning for the manager to identify his personal behaviour and management ability (Robinson Bennett, 1995). It is the job of manger to create an ethical working environment so that inherently honest employees do not turn their behaviours into negative and counterproductive ones (Skarlicki, et al, 2008). Apart from this building reliance relationships, creating ethical policies and procedures, setting achievable targets, creating effective supervision and monitoring performance ultimately helps in toning down the deviant behaviours of the employees in the organisation (Depaulo Depaulo, 1989; Smithikria, 2008). Similarly one step that the organisation can take into reducing these behaviours can be through enhancing organisational justice, allowing workplace participation of employees, maintaining communication, and paying close attention to identification of signs for interpersonal conflict (Tepper et al, 2008; David, 2008; Spector, 2005). Besides this lay off, employees needed to be financially supported and should be well informed in advance, or given a notice period so that they may not bad mouth the organisation and put its integrity at stake. Making other opportunities available to them after some time period also helps (Wilkerson et al, 2008; Jones, 2009) In the last, combating deviant and counterproductive workplace behaviours can be costly and very much time consuming but organisations are in a much predicted position of minimising these behaviours through identifying the main factors and taking actions in reducing it, which would thus increase the organisational performance, workplace environment and the overall success.

Avian Song Control :: Birds Bird Neorology Essays

Avian Song Control Bird songs continue to fascinate neurobiologists and neuroethologists because the development of song has been a popular model used to examine the role of environment on behavior. In most species, only male birds sing complex songs. Their vocalizations are the result of sexual dimorphism in the brain regions responsible for the production of song. However, this behavior is not genetically hardwired into the avian brain. Certain conditions must exist in order for male birds to successfully produce their species-specific song. Additionally, the neuronal circuitry and structure of the avian song system shows high levels of plasticity. If the brain and behavior are indistinguishable, then the structural differences in the avian brain are responsible for behavioral differences across the sexes. Nottebohm and colleagues identified six anatomically distinct regions of the forebrain involved in the production of song, which are arranged into two independent pathways, the posterior pathway, which controls song production, and the anterior pathway, which controls song learning. The collective unit is typically referred to as the vocal control region (VCR) (1) (2). Female birds sing rarely and this behavioral difference is reflective of the anatomy of the female avian brain. There are significant differences in the size of three neural areas involved in the production of song across the sexes, and a specific area, Area X, is present in the male and absent in the female. Additionally, the incorporation of radiolabeled testosterone in certain locations is different in males and females (3) (4). Scientists have been particularly interested in the origin of the structural differences in male and female songbirds. Research has suggested the importance of gonadal hormones, specifically testosterone in the production of song. It was observed that castration eliminated all song production (5). Additionally, when testosterone levels are low, there is not only a decrease in the production of song, but also a decrease in the size of some nuclei involved in song production (6). Further support for the necessity of testosterone for song production was demonstrated by Nottebohm (1980) when he injected female birds with testosterone, which lead to the production of song (7). This research has interesting implications regarding anatomical changes that may occur when an organism is chemically imbalanced. Disruptions in chemical equilibrium may alter brain structure and subsequently influence behavior. Nevertheless, not all research has supported the claim that testosterone is responsible for anatomical and behavioral differences between male and female songbirds. Avian Song Control :: Birds Bird Neorology Essays Avian Song Control Bird songs continue to fascinate neurobiologists and neuroethologists because the development of song has been a popular model used to examine the role of environment on behavior. In most species, only male birds sing complex songs. Their vocalizations are the result of sexual dimorphism in the brain regions responsible for the production of song. However, this behavior is not genetically hardwired into the avian brain. Certain conditions must exist in order for male birds to successfully produce their species-specific song. Additionally, the neuronal circuitry and structure of the avian song system shows high levels of plasticity. If the brain and behavior are indistinguishable, then the structural differences in the avian brain are responsible for behavioral differences across the sexes. Nottebohm and colleagues identified six anatomically distinct regions of the forebrain involved in the production of song, which are arranged into two independent pathways, the posterior pathway, which controls song production, and the anterior pathway, which controls song learning. The collective unit is typically referred to as the vocal control region (VCR) (1) (2). Female birds sing rarely and this behavioral difference is reflective of the anatomy of the female avian brain. There are significant differences in the size of three neural areas involved in the production of song across the sexes, and a specific area, Area X, is present in the male and absent in the female. Additionally, the incorporation of radiolabeled testosterone in certain locations is different in males and females (3) (4). Scientists have been particularly interested in the origin of the structural differences in male and female songbirds. Research has suggested the importance of gonadal hormones, specifically testosterone in the production of song. It was observed that castration eliminated all song production (5). Additionally, when testosterone levels are low, there is not only a decrease in the production of song, but also a decrease in the size of some nuclei involved in song production (6). Further support for the necessity of testosterone for song production was demonstrated by Nottebohm (1980) when he injected female birds with testosterone, which lead to the production of song (7). This research has interesting implications regarding anatomical changes that may occur when an organism is chemically imbalanced. Disruptions in chemical equilibrium may alter brain structure and subsequently influence behavior. Nevertheless, not all research has supported the claim that testosterone is responsible for anatomical and behavioral differences between male and female songbirds.

Mr collins proposal to elizabeth Essay

How does Austen use humour to portray Mr Collins and his proposal? Austen presents Mr Collins to be the most unwillingly comical character in the whole novel through his extreme idiocy and pomposity. From Austen’s description of Mr Collins it is clear that he is self satisfied, proud and serious. â€Å"Mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman†. This shows that although Mr Collins isn’t in a extremely high position in society he is proud of who he is and perhaps thinks himself to be more important than what he is in reality. In terms of physical appearance, Mr Collins is shorter than Darcy which could suggest that he has a weaker chance of marrying Elizabeth, as Darcy is more powerful and serious. Mr Collins isn’t presented as a purposely comical character, but rather the opposite, he is always serious in every situation and is often blinded by his own ego to see that people often mock him. Mr Collin’s proposal to Elizabeth is one of the most humorous points in the novel, which reflects his personality due to the fact that Austen presents it in a ironically humorous way. The first instance of irony is that Collins mistakes Elizabeth’s unwillingness to be left in the room alone with himself as ‘modesty’ and shyness when in actual fact she Just finds the whole situation uncomfortable. Another example of irony is when Mr Collins assumes that all young ‘modest’ girls refuse a proposal from men that they intend to accept, â€Å"l know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application†, and so takes Elizabeth’s refusal speech as encouragement and continues to persuade her with his literate proposal. This highlights how clueless and arrogant Mr Collins is as he has the audacity to continue with his proposal ignoring all sense of ridiculousness, and in a way patronises Elizabeth as he suggests that he knows how all young ladies act, and doesn’t take her response seriously which reinforces how unromantic and scripted the proposal is. The words â€Å"your sex† indicate how domineering men were at the time, and he almost contradicts himself as earlier he states that he singled Elizabeth out, but then however goes on to group the whole â€Å"sex† together suggesting that omen are all exactly the same. Mr Collins speaks of passion and love for Elizabeth as though he is reading a list or quoting something. The proposal is clearly unromantic and literate when Mr Collins begins listing his reasons for wanting to marry. â€Å"My reasons for marrying are, first that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish, secondly,†. This shows that marriage for Mr Collins is simply a convenience rather than emotion, opposed to Elizabeth who elieves marriage is based on true love, and so his proposal becomes even more un realistic and comical as their views are so different. The line â€Å"for coming into Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife† suggests that Mr Collins created a plan for his proposal before hand, and suggests that he chose Elizabeth purely shows the dominance of men at the time as women were almost like a prize that they selected. Although Mr Collins is trying to convince Elizabeth into marriage, he suggests that she ‘almost’ his first choice when in actual fact he had planned to arry Jane. In contrast to this, he then goes on to say â€Å"but before I am run away with by my feelings on this subject†. This makes the situation more humorous as Mr Collins is clearly contradicting and humiliating himself as his earlier actions show that his need for marriage is not based on ‘feelings’ and that he may not have any romantic feelings towards Elizabeth at all. Elizabeth’s reaction to Mr Collins reaction is perhaps what makes the whole situation more humorous. Firstly, she does the unthinkable and refuses him, â€Å"l am perfectly erious in my refusal†, which would have been out of the ordinary and frowned upon in society at the time. The word â€Å"serious† shows how independent she is which was strange at the time as women were almost in possession of a man and you were only as good as the man you married. Strangely, Elizabeth finds the whole situation humorous, and slightly entertaining as he is so pompous and self- righteous that she cant help but laugh. â€Å"Made Elizabeth so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed her to stop him further†. Instead of stopping Mr Collins, she inds the whole situation overly awkward as she is aware of the total incompatibility of each other, in comparison to Mr Collins who is totally unaware of the fact that he looks ridiculous and so continues, hoping to impress Elizabeth. As Mr Collins continues on, Elizabeth begins to get frustrated as she tried to subtly suggest that his idea of marriage would never work, however Mr Collins stays persistent. â€Å"It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now’. This is humorous as it shows how self obsessed Mr collins is as he thinks of himself too highly and believes that he is orthy of every woman, which is why he is so shocked when Elizabeth assures him that she is rejecting his proposal. â€Å"l am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable†. The reader may petty or sympathise with Mr Collins as his inability to understand and pride could pass off to be innocence, which suggests he has no idea on the matter of marriage and love even though he speaks like he does. Mr Collins often elaborates in situations thinking himself to be the epitome of elegance, in ontrast to Elizabeth who stays silent and offers mere responses to his proposal. This is humorous as it highlights how shocked Elizabeth is at Mr Collins arrogance and reinforces their total incompatibility. To conclude, Austen successfully portrays a humorous scene which reflects the unwillingly comical character of Mr Collins. She does this using ironic humour, and in particular makes Elizabeth’s response to the situation much less elaborate than the proposal itself, which shows how idiotic and narrow minded she views Mr Collins to be.

Analysis of the Possible Effects of the Caste System

In this modern day and age, many countries are moving towards globalization. With the current changes and improvement in technology, people easily share and exchange goods, products and services for economic and social development. A lot of opportunities are given to many people so they can take part in globalization and uplift their living. However, there are still countries that seem to lag behind because of their internal problems in regards to inequalities. India with regards to its present global profile is seen to be one of the rising economic powers in the world.In spite of its vast supply of labor especially the skilled workers, this country still remain a low-income one and poverty is still a big issue. This said problem is considered a result of its caste system. The Caste system divides people of India into four groups. This system decides for Indian people what they should do for living for their entire life. The Caste system did help the Indian society to be structured a nd organized. However, the system in the modern days was only an obstacle for India. It is considered as one of the most dehumanizing systems the world.The caste system is making a big gap between the rich and the poor. The extent of and trends in inequalities and poverty in India affects global trends because of its large population size and majority of its population fall under the poverty line. Due to globalization with the mass improvement of transportation and communication, nations are competing against other nations of the entire world. In a modern society, where time and resource are truly valued, the Caste system has held back India by wasting some incredibly talented individuals of lower caste.This system has made the poor suffer most. They were stripped of an opportunity to learn and be employed on bigger companies. This said situation has further led to the marginalization of the already marginalized people. With the growth of India’s gross national product, still the labor force in agriculture remains too high while those in the manufacturing sector are low. There is no doubt that a striking feature of India’s growth performance in the past years has been the growth of the services sector like IT, software and BPO industries.There is no doubt that India has employed millions of people for this industry but as impressive as the figure seems, it is too small if they are seen against the overall size of the country’s labor force. Employment is the service sector still lags behind. Additionally, employment is only concentrated in a few large cities and very few people from the rural and poor area find jobs in this sector because they lack the required skills. In other countries, the service sector tends to gain a larger share of employment.The rising of globalization has made people move from one place to another easily. Also education has also helped people disregard gender and social inequalities. If India would remain strict on recognizing the caste system, it will pose a threat for them in the future. The world is one, and how a nation deals with its immigrants is really important for the future of the nation. Many people now are intolerant to inequalities and discrimination. Therefore, India may be losing investors or possible capitalists just because of the system.The Caste system cannot make India a stable country anymore, since there is no spot in the system for immigrants to India. India should not lose what it was built for and based on. However, they should be really careful. The caste system may give birth to possible social unrest that may dismay or discourage other people to go to their country. This social blindness can be cured only when there is the realization that all people are created equal and have equal intrinsic value and worth.

Proposition 215 essays

Proposition 215 essays In video 7, Public Opinion and Participation in Democracy, Proposition 215 was one of the public initiative that was lead by a group of patients and people in San Francisco. Californians voiced their honest opinion, voting yes on proposition 215 allows patients to use marijuana for medical use. They became the 215 activist group and worked together to ask the government to pass the proposition 215. The proposition 215 allows doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients with diseases that have severe symptoms. For example, cancer patients that undergo chemo-therapy and suffer from severe nausea and aching can benefit from smoking marijuana. It also improves the appetites of AIDS patients, increasing their weight and chances to live longer. The patients believed that the marijuana also helps MS patients with bladder control and tremors. There are some people who have cancer companions being put in jail because they use marijuana knowing its illegal. There were some people who disagree with proposition 215 because they fear marijuana might bring problems to society by creating anti-social behavior. Todays youth can easily access them anywhere while sick patients cant. The 215 activist groups bought up two legislative bills in 1994 and 1995, however it was rejected by the government. The 215 activist group need more volunteers and more exposure from the media so people can understand why it its necessary to pass proposition 215. According to video 7, the 215 activist group need about 700,000 signatures in order to place proposition 215 on the state ballot. There were wealthy people willing to give money and support to the campaign. The backers paid about  ¾ million dollars to circulators to get all the signatures to put it on the ballot. Then once they collected enough signatures, the activist group will start a political campaign going into the media such as advertising on TV, announcements on ra...

Preferential Trade Agreements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Preferential Trade Agreements - Essay Example Though the prime motive behind the formation of these groups was to prevent any form of discrimination among member nations, it is being witnessed that this is not being followed in practice. In fact, existing imbalances on a regional basis have driven nations to form Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTAs) that has been the trend since the past half century. During the same period, it has also been witnessed that there has been a major growth in the degree of multilateral openness within the above organizations. The question being asked by the authors of the paper Mansfield and Reinhardt is as to why nations have relied on preferential liberalization when the prime objective of the above organizations has been to advocate non-discrimination. Additionally, the authors have also performed requisite theoretical and mathematical analysis to determine the various factors that have led to such deviations, which forms a substantial part of the paper currently under review. The major aim of the current review is to analyze the findings, claims and arguments of this paper and to determine the extent to which these claims are justified. On the backdrop of such analysis, the paper attempts to provide a suitable set of recommendations on the basis of which further analysis may be initiated. 2. SUMMARY The authors, by way of the paper, have identified that the international trading system has witnessed a rapid increase in the formation of numerous Preferential Trading Agreements (PTAs). Moreover, the authors have also expressed agreement over the fact that there has been an increased multilateral openness by way of the formation of the GATT and the WTO. However, the authors have expressed that little research has been done for determining how and due to which reasons the multilateral regime has helped in the conception and formation of PTAs by the members of these organizations themselves. The paper claims that the prime reason behind nations preferring for the formation of PTAs is to enhance their bargaining power. The formation of these agreements is perceived as providing the member nations with an opportunity to help them gain strength against any future policies of the GATT/WTO that may not go well with the economic interests of the member states. Moreover, the presence of PTAs provides the member nation with extra muscle that would help it in being more vocal and provide an opportunity to the member for greater market power and share. The authors argue that the past few years has seen a major increase in the number of members of these organizations, thereby making it more and more difficult to allow the organizations to allow at multilateral agreements and hope for any sort of collective actions. In this backdrop, the authors state positively that the formation of PTAs also helps members with similar vested economic interests in solving common problems and achie ving common objectives. In this backdrop, the authors argue that the prime reason for the rise and formation of these preferential agreements is the existence of the GATT/WTO themselves. In

Undecided Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Undecided - Research Paper Example During this process, water becomes produced first from the fractures present within the coal. This process continues until the pressure declines to the level where methane would begin to desorb from the coal surrounding substance itself. The extent of the coalbed fracture stays controlled by the characteristics of the geologic formation, the fluid used in fracturing, and the pressure employed in pumping. The distance at which the fracturing would be performed also comprises geological formation characteristics. The ability for a fracture to grow taller or longer would be determined by the material goods of the surrounding rock. A hydraulically generated fracture would take the route of least resistance through the surrounding rock formations and coal seams (EPA Chapter 1; 3-4). Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Marcellus Shale Team, and the Energy Institute have clearly confirmed the effectiveness of present-day state regulations in protecting water resources. Thi s research paper positions itself to supporting that methane hydraulic fracturing fluids into coalbed wells pose a minimal threat to underground drinking water sources. Discussion EPA conducted a research study into evaluating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane to underground sources of drinking water. The study employed a methodology covering hydraulic fracturing processes and potential incidents of water quality associated with the process. Also, the methodology would determine hazardous constituents contained in hydraulic fracturing additives and fluids as well as identification of coalbed methane basins hydrogeology. The approach employed a detailed and extensive collection of reviews and information of theoretical and empirical data. EPA also reviewed cases of underground drinking water contamination alleged to have resulted from the injection of methane hydraulic fracturing fluids into coalbed methane beds (EPA Chapter 2; 2). Methane hydraulic fracturing fl uids include foamed gels, acids, potassium chloride water and clear water, cross or linear linked gels and a combined treatment of any two or more of these fluids. On the other hand, hydraulic additives include biocides, friction reducers, breakers, acid corrosion inhibitors and fluid loss additives (EPA Chapter 4; 2-8). Their findings on water quality incidents reflected data from formal studies, in addition to the opinions of, residents living near coalbed methane sites namely Black Warrior, Powder River Basins, San Juan and Central Appalachian. Incidences of contamination could be attributed to common production activities such as surface discharge of fracturing and production fluids, and methane migration through fracturing and drilling made outlets. In addition, contamination could arise from improperly abandoned production well, aquifer dewatering and poorly installed or sealed production wells. Moreover, natural factors, resource development, historical practices and populati on growth also constitute potential sources of contamination to drinking water. However, the follow-up outcomes of the study concluded that underground drinking water sources could not be contaminated by hydraulic fracturing. According to EPA, the production of ground water would minimize the likelihood that chemicals contained in fracturing fluids could impact negatively on underground drink