Budget Surplus essays

Budget Surplus essays How to Use the Budget Surplus to Stop the Recession In the last decade the United States Government has been fortunate to have numerous years of budget surplus. The surplus has been an issue with the recent Presidential election. The left over billion or trillion dollars is of great interest to the country. Since the early nineties, the countrys welfare has soared and gained extreme financial security. Until this year, a recession was not even considered. Now the government is faced with many suggestions on how to pull the country back on track. The Republicans and Democrats are split on the subject. President Bush wanted to give the money back to the working citizens with tax refunds and lowering taxes. Vice President Gore thought it best to use the money on reducing the national debt, social security, and Medicare. Other suggestions were made such as using the surplus on education, hospitalization, and infrastructure. The best choice would be to follow President Bushs approach and give the working citizens tax refunds, and concentrate on education. The other choices seem to risky and susceptible to government corruption. During President Clintons office there were many unanswered questions about where the surplus was being put to use. In Clintons early years in charge Congress went along with the President and spent $21 billion of an estimated $71 billion budget surplus on such questionable emergencies as agricultural price supports. There were other misuses of the surplus as well. Forbes also said 60% of the money spent in the Superfund program to clean up toxic-waste sites goes to lawyers. Bushs proposed plan sounds like the most effective. He wants to have then refunds and concentrate on improving education. The money that will be refunded will most likely be spent, and trigger a boost in the economy. The consumers will give the producers some confidence to start investing agai...

Biography of Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady

Biography of Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady Occupation:  First Lady 1963-1969; businesswoman and ranch manager Known for:  Beautification campaign; support for Head Start Also known  as:  Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson. Named Lady Bird by a nursemaid. Dates:  December 22, 1912 - July 11, 2007 Lady Bird Johnson Facts Born  in Karnack, Texas, to a wealthy family: father Thomas Jefferson Taylor, mother Minnie Patillo Taylor Married Lyndon Baines Johnson, November 17, 1934, after meeting him that summer Children: Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (1944-): married Charles Robb in East Room of the White House, December 9, 1967Luci Baines Johnson Nugent Turpin (1947-): married Patrick Nugent August 6, 1966, at the White House, marriage annulled 1979; married Ian Turpin at the LBJ Ranch, March 4, 1984 Lady Bird Johnson Biography Lady Bird Johnsons mother died when Lady Bird was five, and Lady Bird was raised by an aunt. She loved reading and nature from an early age, and graduated from St. Marys Episcopal School for Girls (Dallas) and earned a history degree from the University of Texas (Austin) in 1933, returning another year to earn a degree in journalism. After eloping with Congressional aide Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1934, Lady Bird Johnson miscarried four times before giving birth to their daughters, Lynda and Luci. Lady Bird told Lyndon, during their short courtship, I would hate for you to to into politics. But she financed his campaign for US Congress, using her inheritance as collateral to get a loan, when he ran in a special election in 1937. During World War II, Lyndon Johnson was the first Congressman to volunteer for active duty. While he served in the Navy in the Pacific 1941-1942, Lady Bird Johnson maintained his Congressional office. In 1942, Lady Bird Johnson bought a financially-troubled radio station in Austin, KTBC, using her inheritance. Serving as manager of the company, Lady Bird Johnson brought the station into financial health and used it as the basis for a communications company that also grew to include a television station. Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson also owned extensive ranching property in Texas, and Lady Bird Johnson managed those for the family. Lyndon Johnson won a seat in the Senate in 1948, and in 1960, after his own bid for the presidency failed, John F. Kennedy selected him as running mate. Lady Bird had taken a public speaking course in 1959, and in the 1960 campaign began more active campaigning. She was credited by JFKs brother Robert with the Democratic win in Texas. Throughout his career, she was also known as a gracious hostess to his political and diplomatic guests. Lady Bird Johnson became First Lady when her husband succeeded Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. She hired Liz Carpenter to head her press office, to craft her public image in the wake of the immense popularity of her predecessor, Jacqueline Kennedy. In the 1964 election, Lady Bird Johnson actively campaigned, again emphasizing Southern states, this time in the face of strong and sometimes ugly opposition because of her husbands support of civil rights. After LBJs election in 1964, Lady Bird Johnson took on several projects as her focus. She is best known for her beautification programs to improve urban and highway environments. She actively worked for legislation (unusual for a First Lady) to pass the Highway Beautification Bill, which passed in October 1965. She is less recognized for her role in promoting Head Start, a preschool program for disadvantaged children, part of her husbands War on Poverty program. Because of her husbands ill health his first heart attack had been in 1955 and increasing opposition to his Vietnam policies, Lady Bird Johnson urged him not to run for reelection. She is credited with making his 1968 withdrawal speech even stronger than he had originally written it, adding I will not accept to I will not seek the nomination. After her husbands withdrawal from the 1968 election, Lady Bird Johnson maintained many of her own interests. She served on the University of Texas System Board of Regents for six years. She worked with her husband before his death to open his presidential library in 1972. They gave the LBJ ranch to the United States as a national historic site in 1972, while retaining rights during their lifetimes. In 1970, Lady Bird Johnson converted hundreds of hours of taped daily impressions shed made while in the White House, publishing them in book form as White House Diary. In 1973, Lyndon Baines Johnson suffered another heart attack, and soon died. Lady Bird Johnson continued to be active with her family and causes. The National Wildflower Research Center, founded by Lady Bird Johnson in 1982, was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center in 1998 in honor of her work with the organization and issue. She spent time with her daughters, seven grandchildren, and (at this writing) nine great-grandchildren. Living in Austin, she spent some weekends at the LBJ ranch, sometimes greeting visitors there. Lady Bird Johnson suffered a stroke in 2002, which affected her speech but didnt completely keep her from public appearances. She died July 11, 2007, at her home.

Successful Communication in Organisation Research Paper

Successful Communication in Organisation - Research Paper Example Whether you are the manager or a regular employee at any organization, the better you communicate and interact with others –the better working relationships you will develop with others. It is important to understand that not all employees come from strong communication backgrounds and therefore new employees must be brought up to speed on the crucial communication methods (Guffey & Almonte, 2010). Effective communication is therefore built on some essential aspects or concepts that this paper is going to discuss. These concepts are crucial for any communication to succeed and accomplish the function it is intended for. The first concept is listening. This is paying attention to someone with who you are actively engaged in a conversation with. I believe that this is the most important concept in communication because individuals have to pay attention so that they are able to interpret the message from the sender of the speaker and provide feedback (Bovee, Thill, & Schatzman, 2 003). Poor listening will lead to the receiver misunderstanding a message or not getting the concept at all which is very bad in business. It is bad because chances of organization losing an opportunity that would have made a difference are high (Guffey & Almonte, 2010). ... Active listening therefore goes beyond the obvious and may also entail empathizing with the speaker and this makes you understand the speaker better and in so doing foster effective relationships which are essential in any organization. According to the Harvard Business Review, sensitive listening is the key to effective management and the busy executive spends 80% of his time listening. Psychologists say that listening is the greatest high touch value and this is because it gives the speaker a sense of worth. One may not be able to convince someone that you respect him by telling them so but you may be lucky in getting this message across if you behave in a respectful manner through active listening. Benefits of listening include improved office communication, better and improved relationships, cordial working environments and fostering peace and avoiding conflicts. The second concept is organizational culture. McQuail (2005) defines culture as a process but that it can also refer t o some shared attributes of a human group such as their physical environment, tools, religion, customs and practices or their whole way of life. It is therefore a set of assumptions that members of a given community share. Organizational culture can be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems (Anaeto, 2010). An effective organization culture creates norms values and assumptions usually taken for granted but which exist in the day

Persuasive method of Tesco Christmas Advert 2014 - Lights on Essay

Persuasive method of Tesco Christmas Advert 2014 - Lights on - Essay Example The Gen pen has been made better by the use of water resistant ink. Buy 4 get 1 free at this back to school season† The complete pictorial representation is a metaphor reflecting the professionalism associated with the Gen pen. The representation is quite appealing to capture the audience’s attention. Every element of the image captures a particular information. My intention in using a students image is to be able to capture the main writing target audience. Generally, the image aims at winning loyalty in the use of the Gen pen by ensuring the effectiveness and quality of the pen. My choice of a smiling student has several reasons for its use. To start with, a smiling face implies lack of troubles. In other words, it conveys a message of comfort. This assures the TA of the pens effectiveness while writing. The smiling face acts as a point of attracting attention. For the TA to have an interest to read the advert, it must be appealing and calling out to the audience. I opted to use the exact pen positioning of the tip pointing towards the handwritten work while the other end heads downwards. First, the pen’s tip acts as a pointer towards the handwritten work. The handwritten work has its implications as well as seen later. The pointing therefore acts as an enhancement to ensure that the TA has had a view of the handwritten work. Furthermore, the positioning of the pen from downwards to upwards helps to reflect the ascending ladder an academic system. It implies a progressive continuation of this ladder that also helps to create awareness for the need of education. The fast moving white fumes that are exiting at the pen’s tip convey a message of high speed. I opted to use this in order to convey a message of convenience. It is obvious that the speed may be essential when writing. For this reason, I opted to convey a message that the Gen pen is designed to allow high speed in writing. The student flying on the pen is

The Fall of Rome Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Rome Essay The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by many things. There were political, social, and economic issues all involved in the fall of Rome. Some issues were bigger than others, but I believe there are some major factors that led to the fall of Rome. I believe that the major factors that led to the fall of Rome were that barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire, the economy was going very bad, and Christianity was changing the way people were thinking. The first reason for the fall of Rome was that the barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire. Since Rome was running short on men to serve in the army, they needed to pay barbarians to fight in wars. It says on http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-empire/causes-for-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire that â€Å"One of the main causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire was the Barbarian Knowledge of Roman Military Tactics. The knowledge that the Barbarians gained of Roman style of warfare and military tactics by serving in the Roman army were eventually turned against the Empire and led to the sack of Rome by the Visigoths led by an ex-army soldier, Alaric.† This tells me that since the barbarians were in the Roman army for a while, they got to understand the way they fought and all their strategies. So when the barbarians attacked Rome, they already knew what Rome was going to do. The reason why they had to hire barbarians for the army was that people didn’t want to fight for their home. They would only do it for the money. The second reason why the Roman Empire fell was that the economy was going very bad. Document 3 says â€Å"First the economic factor†¦ While the empire was expanding, its prosperity was fed by plundered wealth and by new markets in the semi-barbaric provinces. When the empire ceased to expand, however, economic progress soon ceased.† What this tells me is that Rome would always conquer different places all the time. When they would do that, they plundered the cities they conquered and the Empire’s wealth source was made up of all the plunder. So when there was no more land to conquer, then there would be no more plundering. If there was no more plundering, then Rome’s economy would go down and they would have to find another source to get that money they always got from plundering. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find another source of money like that which led to the fall of Rome. The last reason why the Roman Empire fell was because of Christianity. Christianity had to do with the way people saw things in Rome. Christianity affected the people’s outlook on the Empire. According to Document 2, it says â€Å"The introduction . . . of Christianity had some influence on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The clergy successfully preached the doctrine of patience; the active virtues of society were discouraged; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister; a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the . . . demands of charity and devotion.† What this tells me is that Christianity helped people not follow the way of society of Rome. This made people not want to fight for their home and resulting of hiring barbarians. Also instead of people putting money toward Rome, they put money for charities and devotions. The Christian way was against the way Rome was heading for which really made a difference. So in conclusion, the reason why the Roman Empire fell was because the barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire because they fought in the Roman army, the economy was going down because they couldn’t find a way to make up the money they were getting from plundering cities, and Christianity changed the way people thought of the Roman Empire making them go against the Roman way.

Affliction :: essays papers

Affliction Affliction, based on the novel by Russell Banks, was very interesting, mysterious, and kept you guessing up until it was over. The actors/actresses portrayed in the movie was Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte), Wade’s girlfriend Margie Fogg (Sissy Spacek), Glen Whitehouse (James Coburn), Rolfe Whitehouse (William Defoe), Lillian (Mary Beth Hurt), Jill (Brigid Tierney), and Jack Hewit (Jim True). The movie begins by Rolfe Whitehouse (William Defoe) narrating the movie about a phone call he received from his brother, Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte), the night after Halloween, which was what lead up to Wade’s mysterious disappearance. Using a narrative approach in the movie was an excellent choice for the plot. It made you feel as if something was going to take place in this town, but no clues were given. In the movie Defoe not only does the narration, but also plays Wade’s (Nick Nolte) brother. Defoe’s character grows up, moves away and becomes a schoolteacher. This was something different for Defoe, but by using a quite and soft-spoken tone it made his character fit smoothly into the plot. Flashing back to the night of Halloween. Wade is driving Jill his daughter (Bridgid Tierney) to her ex-school’s Halloween festival. It is obvious; Jill does not want to be there. She feels that her father is very confused and mixed-up. After Wade and Jill get into an argument, Jill calls her mom to come get her. When Lillian (Mary Beth Hurt) Wade’s ex-wife arrives, it is obvious that Wade doesn’t want Lillian (Mary Beth Hurt) to have custody of Jill. Which caused him to seek lawyer for custody of Jill. During the movie Wade Whitehouse states his love for his daughter many times. It would have helped to have flashback scenes, to feel Wade’s emotions and urging to be a good father. The setting takes place during the winter in a small town in upstate New Hampshire. The director made a good move by using the effect of winter and snow, which contributed to the character of Wade Whitehouse. The gloominess in the midst of winter made Wade’s depression, loneliness, and uncertainty about his life come together. Although, you would of thought that Jack Nicholson would of played in this type of movie, but Nick Nolte came through did his self-justice by portraying Wade Whitehouse in the movie.

Analysis of the Book of the Dun Cow

In Walter Wangerin Jr. ‘s beast fable, The Book of the Dun Cow, two roosters have the unusual distinction of being Lords of their own manor. Webster defines a Lord as a â€Å"person having great powers and authority, a ruler or master,† where as a manor is defined as â€Å"the district over which a lord holds authority and domain† (Webster). Chauntecleer is introduced to the reader as the leader or Lord of the Coop and the ruler over the animals in the surrounding land. On the other hand, Cockatrice takes over as leader of his Coop and land after he kills his father, Senex. Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are two very different roosters who lead and rule their domain in stark contrast yet they are both labeled as Lords of the manor. Early on in the novel, Chauntecleer is portrayed as a short tempered, vain, and arrogant ruler who is not at all likeable. While he is proud and undoubtedly stubborn, he is also characterized as fair, compassionate, and just. With his noble bearing, Chauntecleer keeps a sense of order in his land and the animals' lives by crowing the canonical hours and occasional crows in his strong magnificent voice. His crows are compared to the clock of the community. Seven times a day, dutifully, with a deep sense of their importance, and by the immemorial command of the Divine, Chauntecleer crowed his canonical crows† (page 12). Crowing is his job and when he leads by his crows, the hens in his coop and the animals in his land are happy and unafraid, he is even able to make wrong things right. While Chauntecleer may be flawed as a le ader, his harem of hens and other creatures like John, Wesley Weasel, and Mundo Cani Dog see him as their protector and ruler. He protects the lives of those around him and sees that justice is carried out. As Lord he supports and protects his land and unites all his creatures whether fowl, rodent, or insect; animals large or small, wild or domestic to come join together to fight evil. East and upriver from Chauntecleer's land is another land ruled by another Lord, Cockatrice. A half rooster half serpent conceived as a result of an unnatural union of his rooster father, Senex, and the evil serpent Wyrm. Cockatrice rules his manor with threats and fear. Unlike his father, Senex, who always remembered the canonical crows to help unite his animals, Cockatrice never crows the canon. â€Å"So under him the day lost its meaning and its direction, and the animals lost any sense of time or purpose†¦ They were tired all the day long, and at night they did not sleep† (page 82). Under his evil rule, the creatures suffer from disunity, distrust, and dishonor. Cockatrice shows no concern for the animals of his land and resorts to having the Toad speak for him. He humiliates the animals a nd is an enemy to the creatures rather than a Lord. He rapes the hens and forces them to bear his children and suffer a cruel indignity. He swallows up thousands of children that hatch as Basilisk creatures and then vomits them back into the river. Rather than protect the creatures of his land, he orders his Basilisk children to kill everyone living until only he sits silently in his tree. Cockatrice leaves his land and flies west for he has no creatures to lord. By comparison, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice are dominant roosters that command attention from the creatures in their communities. Likewise they are both offspring of past Lords of the Coop in their realm. Animals and creatures in their land and Coop hold a degree of fear of them. While both are able to gather their subjects together, the outcomes from these gatherings are fatally different. In contrast, the two Lords are as different as good and evil. While Chauntecleer is a strong postured, slightly scruffy, handsome rooster with noble bearing; Cockatrice is frightening and menacing with his serpent looking tail and bloody eyes. In return for his leadership and constant abiding, Chauntecleer asks only for good food, loyalty, sleep, a little color in his life, and a morning sunbath. On the other hand, Cockatrice demands total subservience from his creatures even though he shows them no respect or care. Chauntecleer rejoices and shares the pride of his three sons with his wife, Pertelote, with the creatures of the community while Cockatrice demands he have thousands of children by raping the hens to build an army of Basilisks who just by their touch cause death. As Lord of his land, Chauntecleer calls for all the creatures in his land to gather for a council so that he can prepare them for the upcoming battles with evil. In contrast, Cockatrice forbids the animals from gathering for meetings and even mere talking. Chauntecleer argues against revenge and hatred while Cockatrice is driven by this very evil. In Wangerin's novel, both Chauntecleer and Cockatrice have the gift of speech; however they each individually choose their own path of good or evil, order or chaos, and eventually life or death. Not only do all of the animal creatures from Cockatrice's land perish, he too dies because of his self destructive hatred. In the land of Chauntecleer, the creatures mourn the loss of their fellow animals killed in battle; however they look to their Lord of the manor to rebuild their land so they can serve their overall purpose to be the last protection against the almighty evil, Wyrm.

Total Quality Management in Toyota

Introduction Toyota is one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, selling over  9 million models in 2006 on all five continents. A Top 10 Fortune Global 500 enterprise, Toyota ranks among the world’s leading global corporations and is proud to be the most admired automaker, an achievement the company believes stems from its dedication to customer satisfaction. Toyota has been shaped by a set of values and principles that have their roots in the company’s formative years in Japan. The Toyota story begins in the late 19th century, when Sakichi Toyoda invented Japan’s first power loom, which was to revolutionise the country’s textile industry. In January 1918, Sakichi founded the Toyoda Spinning & Weaving Company, and with the help of his son, Kiichiro Toyoda, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of building an automatic loom in 1924. Two years later, he established Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. Like his father, Kiichiro was an innovator, and during his visits to Europe and the U. S. in the 1920s, he became deeply interested in the nascent automotive industry. Making the most of the ? 100,000 that Sakichi Toyoda received for selling the patent rights of his automatic loom, Kiichiro laid the foundations of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), which was established in 1937. From looms to cars, the Toyota experience has been shaped by extending the boundaries of manufacturing. History When Toyota became the first Japanese car manufacturer to venture into motor sports in 1957, Shotaro Kamiya, then president of the Toyota Motor Sales Company, encouraged his team with his belief that, â€Å"There will be no progress if you fear failure. † The Toyota spirit For half a century this courageous spirit has guided these pioneers and their successors. Aware of the immense task ahead, Toyota approached motor sports with a mixture of patience and ambition. Over the decades, the company’s â€Å"kaizen† method of continuous improvement proved a winning strategy. Toyota eventually accumulating hard-won experience, professional respect and a long string of victories at tracks all around the world. The purpose of this project is to how Toyota analysis of effectiveness of Total Quality Management in the automobile industry. The reason is quality of a product or a service plays a key role in the current business environment. Total Quality Management is a philosophy that guides every activity within a business. It is concerned with developing and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement, which focuses customer’s expectation at a low cost. Providing the best product or service at the minimum price is the main challenge faced by the current competitive business environment. Toyota customers are price sensitive but at the same time they expect value for money, large companies have been able to gain the economies of scale therefore, they have been able to deliver low price products to the market. But the quality of that product cannot always be impressive as they mainly focus on the low cost. Traditionally the cost of quality is considered as an additional cost but at present cost of quality has taken a major role of a product costing. As the competition and business survival in modem organisations are intensifying, they need not only to increase their market share by improving the quality or products and services, but also improve the performance of their employees. In the early 1980s, the concept of total quality management was widely applied to manufacturing industries. The application of Total Quality Management has recently shown its significance in services industries for improving the quality of service and customers satisfaction, which has resulted in increased competitive advantage. In the UK, service automobile industry represents a dynamic and important sector, which occupies a major part of the economy. Rapid development of new levels of service capabilities would be the best solution to deliver high value- added service to satisfy the customer’s need in the UK automobile industry. The awareness of the important of quality in the survival and competitive advantage has recently started to spread in UK automobile industry (black 1999). Since the effective implementation of Total Quality Management hinges on the development of a business plan and providing value added customers focused processes, it is interesting to study the key drivers, which will make application of TQM successful in service companies such as hotels, banks and hospital etc. Research Objectives Outline of Toyota’s TQM system Analysis of the effectiveness of TQM in Toyota Critically evaluate how Toyota has benefit by adopting TQM principle An analysis of the current problems encountered by Toyota principle of TQM The main reason to choose this topic as my dissertation is my personal experience. Toyota is my main means of transportation. Toyota companies own a well-sophisticated technology; charge very expensive tickets fares, yet inefficient automobile industries had given me the interest to study about it for a long time. Train delays are the main problem that commuters face. The monopoly of train operating companies has made this situation worse. I always believed that Toyota could give a better service at a low rate than now. Also I am personally interested in TRANSPORT economics, which has given me an added reason to do research IN Toyota. Total Quality Management is all about the managing the quality at work on whatever we do and also it helps to reduce and service cost. So that I decide to do a research on application of Total Quality management in Toyota. Literature review Quality is the key to competitive advantage in today’s business environment. As more organisations for Total Quality Management (TQM), the choices open to those wanting to set up a quality system are becoming increasing varied. Good business, which in turn general prosperity and employment, is not something, which comes about by chance. It is result of the skills with which business in general is managed and business in general is only the sum of the activities of the business units. Through all the years that I have been in business I have never yet found our business bad as a result of any outside force. It has always been due to some defect in our own company, and whenever we located and repaired the defect our business become good again regardless of what anybody else may be doing. HENRY FORD According to the above remark done by Henry Ford, it implies that the success or failure of a company depends on the strength and weaknesses of that company. Once they can rectify their slip – ups then they can gain their success back. So by doing everything correctly, with zero defects the failure of a business is minimal. Total Quality Management can be practices in every department, in every activity in a company. It should be practices from senior management to the least level of the employee. Then any business can get success in the competitive business environment. The concept of Total Quality Management was developed by an American, W. Edward Deming, after World War II for improving the production quality of goods and service. The concept was not taken seriously by American until the Japanese, who adopting it in 1950 to resurrect their post war business and industry, used it to dominate world markets by 1980. By then most U. S. manufacturing had finally accepted that the nineteenth century assembly line factory model was outdated for the modern global economic markets (Mehrotra, 2005). Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organisation of a company that aims to provide, and continue to provide, its customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspect of the company’s operations, with things being done right first time, and defects and waste eradicated from operations. What is Total Quality Management? The two key elements in this research are Total Quality Management and corporate strategy. The main aim is to conduct an inductive grounded theory study into the strategic impact of Total Quality Management and is to place corporate strategy and TQM in context. The seeks to inductively develop an understanding of the relationship between TQM and strategy, as opposed to testing existing theory. A brief strategic quality management literature review is given, followed by a description of the grounded theory research methodology involving 19 grounded case studies. The grounded results are discussed in the context, in which they were made, this allowing the grounded picture to emerge according to the (Eisenhardt, 1989, 1991). Even though Total Quality Management is all about the managing the quality at work on whatever we do, it has got a vast theoretical area as quality should be everywhere in an organisation. Total Quality Management applies from top to bottom of an organisation, from strategic decisions to final output. Total Quality Management can be studied from three different approaches. They are contribution from quality leaders, formal evaluation models and empirical research. Deming (1986) underlined the use of statistical techniques for quality control, and proposed has 14 principles to improve quality in organisation, based on the following ideas. Leadership, an improvement philosophy, the right production from the beginning, training for managers and employees, internal communication aimed at the elimination of obstacles for cooperation and the suppression of quantitative objective. Juran (1993) pointed out the importance of both technical and managerial aspects, and indentified the three basic function of the quality management process. They are planning, organisation and control, as the stages for quality improvement. He indicated that the aim of the management is to reduce the cost of mistakes, reaching a point where the total costs of quality are minimal according to (Juran and Gryna, 1993). Ishikawa (1985) emphasized the importance of training, the usage of cause effect diagrams for problem solving, and quality circles as a way to achieve continuous improvement. Crosby (1979) defined 14 steps for quality improvement, including top and intermediate management commitment, quality measurement, evaluation of quality costs, corrective action, and training, a zero defect philosophy, objective setting and employee recognition. Lastly, Feigenbaum (1991) described the notion of total quality, based mainly on leadership and an understanding of the aspects of quality improvement, a commitment to incorporate quality in the firm’s practices, and the participation of the entire workforce, the objective being the reduction of total costs. Some of the above mentioned theories have discussed in details in this chapter. Juran (1993) concluded that Total Quality Management is the set of management processes and system that create delighted customers through empowered employees, leading to higher revenue and lowest cost. According to that definition TQM is a combination of all functions and process within an organisation in order to achieve continuous improvement of the quality of goods and service for the customer satisfaction. To accomplish this is need to involve every one and all activities of a continuous way of life for the purpose of managing the quality of the all activities. Total Quality Management is an interaction of number of ideas. In order to attain the quality of an organisation, in terms of all the functions, it is a start to finish process that integrates interrelated function at all levels. It is a systems approach that considers every contact between the various elements of the organisation. As a result of this interaction the overall performance of the organisation will be higher than total of the individual output from the subsystems. Those subsystems such as include organisational functions in the products life cycle such as design, planning, production, distribution and field service. It also needs to integrate management subsystems such as strategy with customers focus, the tools of quality and employee involvement that the linking process integrates whole. As a result of all those activities any product or service can be improved. This particular structure leads the organisation in to continuous improvement and finally customer satisfaction (PHS management training 2005). Continuous improvement of all operations and activities is at the heart of TQM. This is because customer satisfaction can only be achieved by providing a high quality products, continuous improvement of the quality of the product is seen as the only way to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. As well as recognising the link between product quality and customer satisfaction, TQM also recognises that product quality is the result of process quality. As a result, there is a focus on continuous improvement of the companies’ processes. This will lead to an improvement in process quality. In turn this will lead to an improvement in product quality, and to increase in customer satisfaction. Improvement cycles are encouraged for all activities from design and development of products, through routine support and administrative service, to customer relationship management. To achieve continuous improvement Toyota gas to measure and analyze its own performance and that of other companies. Top management commitment and involvement is required in creating and developing clear quality values and goals consistent with the objective of Toyota, and in creating and developing well defined systems, methods and performance measure for achieving those goals. Such systems and methods guide all quality activities and encourage participation by all employees. The development and use of performance indicators is linked, directly or indirectly, to customer requirements and satisfaction, and employee remuneration elimination of waste is a major component of the quality improvement approach. There is also a strong emphasis on prevention rather than detection, hence an emphasis on quality at the design stage. The customer driven process helps to prevent errors and get closer to defect free production. When problems do occur within the product development process, the aim is to identify and solve them rather than hide them; they are generally discovered and resolved before they can get to the next internal customer Benchmarking What is that organisation do that gets results so much better than ours? The answer to this question opens the door to benchmarking, an approach that is accelerating among U. S. firm that have adopted the total quality management (TQM) philosophy. The essence of benchmarking is the continuous process of comparing a company’s strategy, products and processes with those of the world leaders and best in class organisations in order to learn how the achieve excellence and then setting out match and even surpass it. For many organisations, benchmarking has become a key component of their TQM programs (Joel E. Ross) National and international quality awards place considering emphasis on the need to make inter firm comparisons on a spectrum of performance related criteria. This is called benchmarking. This comparison may be within the industrial sector or against â€Å"best practice† irrespective of the industry concerned. Such comparisons can be made in almost any measures which are not just industry specific. For instance, financial performance measurement such as return on capital employee, debtor and creditor ration, credit period or training levels, plan availability and efficiency. Joel E. Ross) concludes the real meaning of benchmarking is the continuous process of comparing a company’s strategy, products and processes with those of the world’s leader and best in class organisation in order to learn how they achieved excellence and then setting out to match and even surpass it. Nowadays benchmarking is a key component of TQM programs. There is currently some debate abo ut which TQM practices contribute most to superior performance outcomes. Several proponents argue that softer TQM practices such as leadership, human resource management, and customer focus have more impact than benchmarking, process analysis or performance measurement. The evidence for which TQM factors contribute most too improved performance is not yet conclusive, and sometimes contradictory. Using data from a longitudinal study of 67 TQM firms we contribute to this debate. Our central hypothesis is that measurement of key TQM practices and performance outcomes in essential for TQM success. We examine the measurement practise of this cohort of firms, and report on the changes in their measurement behaviour over time. Specifically, we analyse seven dimensions of measurement relating to customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and process performance, impact of TQM on costs, and sales, self assessment, and benchmarking. We calculate a measurement intensity score for each firm, based on how many of these seven parameters were being measured, and we show that increased measurement intensity is strongly associated with perceived TQM success. Finally, using multivariate discriminate analysis, we identify eight variables that explain the level of TQM success with a classification accuracy of almost 90 %. We conclude that to attain the highest levels of TQM success, firm need to engage in the measurement practices of self assessment and benchmarking, but our data suggest that an appropriate measurement framework needs to be in place beforehand ( Taylor 2006) One of the biggest mistake people make when beginning their benchmarking endeavour is that they only look to benchmark someone within their own industry. Although this doesn’t hurt, but obviously industries already know enough about their industry to know what works and what doesn’t. Some people think they must benchmark their competitor. But if the competitor is worse than your company, it can be a big waste of time and energy. And it will not give the favourable result for the company. Instead of benchmarking a company that is well known for being a good model will give a favourable result to the company. Benchmarking will help to find out, who performs the business process very well and gas process practices that are adaptable to your own organisation if you need to conduct a comprehensive benchmark study or if you can obtain 80 – 90 % of what you need from just using the telephone, email or any other electronic survey to communicate your needs with other member on the benchmarking exchange (Hing, 2001). The drive of customer satisfaction The benefit of having customers who are satisfied is well known. The issues in building customer satisfaction are to acquire satisfied customers, know when you have them, and keep. The obvious way to determine what makes customers satisfied is simply to ask them. (Joel E. Ross) Total quality management has a customer first orientation. The customer, not internal activities and constraints, comes first. Customer satisfaction is seen as the company’s highest priority. The company believes it will only be successful if customers are satisfied. The TQM company is sensitive to customer requirements and responds rapidly to them. In the TQM context, being sensitive to customer requirement’s goes beyond defect and error reduction, and merely specification or reducing customer complaints (Black, 1999). The concept of requirement is expanded to take in not only product and service attributes that meet basic requirements, but also those that enhance and differentiate them for competitive advantage. Each part of the company is involved in Total Quality, operating as a customer to some function and as a supplier to others. The engineering department is a supplier to downstream functions such as manufacturing and field service, and has to treat these internal customers with the same sensitivity and responsiveness as it would external customers. This also helps to motivate employee’s activities as the conflicts are minimal as they treat each other as customers. TQM Components TQM has four basic components 1. Put customers first 2. Make Continuous Improvement 3. Aim for zero defects 4. Training and development Put Customers First A quality product or service satisfies customer’s needs and expectations. Whether a product or service is of high or low quality, will be decided by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded. See quality. If customers are not put first, then customer expectations will be difficult to satisfy and consequently quality will not be achieved. Customers can be put first through a variety of initiatives including †¢ Undertaking market research to discover consumer needs so that the organisation can develop products and services that exceed their consumer’s needs. †¢ Looking after all customers whether internal or external. Internal customers are employees of the organisation and are known as customers when they approach each other for a service. External customers are all non-employees (of the organisation) that approach the organisation in connection with a service or product. †¢ Effective customer care systems. †¢ Ensuring that all service standards are met. †¢ Listening to customer views and opinions. Responding to customer views including resolving customer complaints in a manner that satisfies their expectations. Once customer complaints are resolved they should be analysed to prevent future recurrence. Make Continuous Improvement The Japanese term â€Å"kaizen† has contributed to this component. Kaizen believes that there are no limits to continuous improvement. This means that a TQM organisation will continuously strive to improve their product/service and increase the quality standards. A TQM organisation will also view change positively whether the change involves a process change or a change in customer needs and expectations. This is because changes will enable the organisation to develop and explore quality. Aim for Zero Defects There are a number of reasons behind the aim to eradicate defects. Defects are expensive because they will lower the customer’s confidence in the product. Also it is more expensive to rectify defects than it is to prevent them occurring in the first place. Zero defects can be achieved through a combination of quality assurance and quality control. Training and Development An organisation will need to train their employees to ensure that they understand the principles of TQM. A TQM organisation employee will need to understand how TQM is to be achieved or maintained and how they as an employee will ensure that the organisation emulates TQM. Unless each employee accepts and believes in TQM it will be difficult for the organisation to practice TQM. QUALITY Quality is important to business organisations and their consumers. This is because quality products or services can and will secure consumer’s business. However do not equate quality with expensive, as price will not determine quality. Whether a product or service is of high or low quality, will be decided by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded. Adding Value Some writers such as Tom Peters (in his book â€Å"Thriving on Chaos†) believe that quality rather than price dictates demand for a product. Peters argues that customers will be prepared to pay for high quality. This means that value is added to a product by ensuring that products/services have the quality consumers require. Quality Control This is defined as the process of identifying which products/services do not meet the organisation’s standards. Once identified the products/services below standard will then be adapted (so that they meet the standards expected) or discontinued Quality Assurance The purpose of this is to ensure that products/services are not below standard when manufactured or used by the consumer. The aim of quality assurance is to make sure that all the goods produced or services offered have â€Å"zero defects†. Quality assurance should save costs as products below standard can not be sold. It should also protect the organisation’s reputation. Whilst quality control is about identification of low quality products, quality assurance is about prevention. In other words the aim of quality assurance is to ensure that products are not below standard. Quality Circles A quality circle is made up of a group of people at various levels within the organisation. These people will have meetings where they will discuss and attempt to solve problems within the organisation. Each of these problems will be real problems faced by the organisation and will require solutions that can be put into practice. Training To ensure that an organisation can offer the quality expected by their consumers, they will strive to continuously improve their product or service. This is because a constantly evolving market place will change consumer demands, needs and expectations with it. Continuous improvement will only take place if staff possesses the right skills and knowledge. Skills and knowledge are usually acquired by the staff through the organisation’s ongoing training and development programs. Fishbone Analysis A fishbone analysis is also known as a cause and effect analysis. The concept was thought up by Kaoru Ishikawa. The analysis suggests that in order to solve a problem an organization is going through, the firm should try to find out the causes. Only when the causes are discovered and understood can you prevent the problem from occurring again. The best way to view the cause and effect was to draw it out like a fish skeleton with the problem at the head of the fish and the bones, the causes. Causes of problems could be anything from: †¢ Manpower †¢ Machinery †¢ Materials the firm uses †¢ Methods of making the product Or it could be down to one or some of the elements of the in business (see below). If you look at this diagram the problem for the company is declining sales, the causes of declining sales when traced back can be from inefficient processes, to lack of training for staff. To address the problem of declining sales the causes need to be addressed. The benefit of a fishbone analysis is it enables the problem to be traced back to the root causes, with the aim of trying to find long term solutions. A cause and effect analysis is usually completed in teams, where the fishbone is drawn out and team member brainstorm possibilities of the problem. Total Quality Management is the set of management processes and systems that create delighted customers through empowered employees, leading to higher revenue and lower cost. Total Quality Management is the integration of all functions and processes within an organisation in order to achieve continuous improvement of the quality of goods and services. The goal is customer’s satisfaction. Of all the management issues faced in the last decade, none has had the impact of or caused as much concern as in America products and services. A report The concept of Total Quality Management Total Quality Management is based of ideas. It means thinking about quality in terms of all functions of the enterprise and is a start to finish process that integrates interrelated functions at all levels. It is a systems approach that considers every interaction between the various elements of the organisation. This would means that, the overall effectiveness of the system is higher than the sum of the individual outputs from the subsystems. The subsystems include all the organisational functions in the life cycle of product, such as 1. Design 2. Planning 3. Production 4. Distribution 5. Field service The management subsystem also require integration, including 1. Strategy with a customer’s focus 2. The tools of quality 3. Employee involvement A corollary is that any product, process, or service can be improved, and a successful organisation is one that consciously seeks and exploits opportunities for improvement at all levels. The load bearing structure is customer’s satisfaction. The conference board has summarized the key issues and terminology relates to Total Quality Management: †¢ The cost of quality as the measure of non – quality not meeting customer requirements and a measure of how the quality process is progressing †¢ A cultural change that appreciate the primary need to meet customer requirements, implements a management philosophy that acknowledges this emphasis, encourages employee involvement, and embraces the ethic of continuous improvement. Enabling mechanisms of change, including training and education, communication, recognition, management behaviour, teamwork, and customer satisfaction programs. †¢ Implementing Total Quality Management by defining the mission, identifying the output, indentifying the customers, negotiating customer requirements, developing a â€Å"supplier’s specification† that details customer objective, and determining the act ivities required to fulfil those objectives. Management behaviour that includes acting as role models, use of quality process and tools, encouraging communication, sponsoring feedback activities, and fostering and providing a supporting environment. Continuous improvement Continuous improvement methods can be used to assists Toyota getting better their manufactured goods and services and via using continuous improvement in each week or month not matter what size the development is made but progress has to obtain place a model which be able to used is PDCA which stands for plan, do, act and check. The PDCA is a model of continuous improvement which be capable of being employed to get better Toyota goods and services and assisting them to expand new goods and services or even to get better the merit of their manufactured goods and services via preparation how the organisation will get better their manufactured goods and services and then how the Toyota will carry out to the plans and then using the plans and finally confirming if the tactics working and this stages will continues in anticipation of they contain makes new products or services or even better existing products and services. The cause of the effect looks like selected at the outcome of the subject which contain occur carry out via the Toyota for instance they had issues through the excellence of the manufactured goods and the effect of effect would show all the possible cause which are the issues and then they be able to employs the effecting of outcome within their organisation to perceive what issues the they have. By doing that it will helps them to undertake the issues in anticipation of no source of cause or it is reducing therefore, if there is still a issues then they will not be effecting by the results of it. The why why why analysis know how to assists them via status the issues and then asking them how is the issues has happen and once the why why why analysis recognise the issues afterwards in anticipation of the issues is not resolve the why why why analysis is maintains on creature continually to resolve all the issues which they has and after that once known see if they be able to remove all the problems. The six – sigma improvement model There are five fundamental phases or stages in applying the sic- sigma approach to improving performance in a process: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC). These from an improvement cycle grounded in Deming’s original Plan, Do, Check, Act. In the six- sigma approach, DMAIC provides breakthrough strategy and disciplined method of using rigorous data gathering and statistically based analysis to indentify source of errors and ways of eliminating them. It has become increasingly common in so – called six – sigma organisation, for people to refer to DMAIC projects these revolve around the three major strategies for processes to bring about rapid bottom – line achievements – design /redesign, management and improvement. DMAIC (Define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) this is a good problem solving tool to help improve manufacturing quality and productivity. ? Define This is the start of the of DMAIC technique were the team at hand need to try and look into the problem at hand. What is used to help understand the problem with the project would be a project charter which is information on the product. ? Measure The second phase of DMAIC is to grab as much information from the define process so that the improvement team can try to understand how the process operates but are not interested with the problem at this time. This phase is mainly to do with the understanding of the process. ? Analyze Once understanding the process the team now needs to analyze what is the main cause of the problem being studied. ? Improve Once the team have analyzed the problem they can now see what could be done to improve the problem, this is usually done by brainstorming solutions to help the problem. ? Control The last action to be taken would be taking control of the problem by issuing a plan on what to do and how to sort the problem out. These might include: 1. Review and update the process map 2. Update any affected work instructions 3. Develop training that describes the newly implemented methods 4. Determine new metrics to verify the effectiveness of new process 5. Determine if the process changes can be effectively implemented in other processes http://6sixsigma. com/index. php/DMAIC-Cycle. html The second assessment tool Toyota could adopt is called the Fishbone Analysis also known as the ishikawa diagram. This system is designed to identify and list all the factors that are conditioning the problem at hand. This technique helps understand the scale of a situation. It helps brainstorm information from different perspectives within a team or individually to help solve a problem. It is also known to be a very effective system to help people coming from different backgrounds or professional disciplines to working in a much easier business environment to solve problems. This system has a major advantage because usually teams initiate immediately into fixing a problem without taking the time to plan and understand the problem. This is not a good method because the end result usually ends with only parts of the problem having been resolved. The fishbone analysis has a more carful style into understand the problem with its careful planning brainstorming method. http://www. tda. gov. uk/upload/resources/pdf/f/fishbone_analysis_spring2007. pdf The main problem is written on the right hand side of the paper. On the bottom and top of the stems you type 5-6 key factors of the problems or issues that have to be resolved. http://www. tda. gov. k/upload/resources/pdf/f/fishbone_analysis_spring2007. pdf Now you can use the 5-6 key factors to break down into sub headings of other factors that need to be understood to help the solutions for the main development phase. This is a very good was of working as a team as well, you could have a certain team responsible for one main fish bone. The PDCA cycle is something that came around in the 1950’s and is still being used today on an international level weather it wo uld be in training facilities to business environments. It is a four stage check list that will help you get from problem faced to problem solved. It is a continuous cycle that starts with careful planning, must result in effective action, and must move on again to planning. The way PDCA is used: †¢ Plan to improve your operation you first need to understand what is going on with careful planning. †¢ Do To make the changes and try and solve the problem on a smaller scale. This minimises disruption and while testing weather the changes have taken affect or not. Check This method is to check if the changes are meeting the targets to ensure you know how the output is at all times to identity if any new problems are arising. †¢ Act The last stage is to make the changes that are required on a larger scale if the experiment has proven to be successful. In a business this could be getting other departments or even suppliers involved because maybe they may be affected by the changes. Or these people or departments could have been a dded in the Do stage. http://leadershipchamps. files. wordpress. com/2008/03/pdca. png

10 Tips Every Freshman needs to Know for Back to School Season by EssaySupply.com

10 Tips Every Freshman needs to Know for Back to School Season 10 Tips To Know Before School Season As you get ready to begin your first year of college, there are probably dozens of things you have done to prepare yourself. You’ve most likely shopped for dorm room furnishings, purchased a new laptop for studying and entertainment, taken a tour of the classroom, introduced yourself to your new dorm mate, and more. Hopefully, you are as prepared as you can be. However, if you aren’t feeling as confident about the start of the school year as you should be, don’t worry. We have compiled a list of ten tips for new college freshmen that you won’t hear in any orientation. 1. Create an Open and Honest Relationship with Your Roommate Here is the deal. Unless something extreme happens, you and your roommate will be together for one semester at a minimum before your RA will even entertain the thought of making a move. Try getting together and setting up a few ground rules around issues such as visitors, cleaning, and food. Then, agree to approach each other honestly when there are issues and avoid being passive aggressive. 2. Grades Aren’t Everything Here’s a shocking revelation. Many of your future employers will care less about your GPA. They’ll care that you graduated. They’ll care about research projects, whether or not you’ve been published, internships, work experience, and relevant activities. So, study hard, but take the time to be a well-rounded student. 3. Party Wisely Let’s be realistic. You will go to parties. Just be safe and use some common sense. Go to parties with friends and leave with friends. Make sure there is one person in the group that will not be drinking. Don’t binge drink or accept drinks from anybody you do not trust explicitly. Leave enough time in your schedule for sleep and studying. 4. Scope out Places Near Campus that Serve food all Night Every college student needs a go-to diner, cafà ©, or greasy spoon to hit late at night when they have the munchies. These are great places to go for a burger, a cup of coffee, or just a quiet late night study spot. 5. Say Hi to Your Professors If you have questions, a comment on a lecture, or a concern about an upcoming assignment stop by your instructor’s office. They will be more than happy to hear from you. If you have nothing to say, just pop your head in the door to say hello. 6. It’s okay to Befriend Upper Classmen This isn’t high school where upper classmen would never lower themselves to hang with a ‘frosh’. Friendships in college tend to be founded around common interests, not grade level or age. 7. There are more ways to get Help than you are told You have many options for getting help with school work on campus. This is great, but sometimes that help isn’t what you need. If you need real help with writing assignments, look into a service like where you can buy essay online that are custom written and quality-guaranteed. 8. Print Everything the Night Before The biggest mistake you can make is to finish your homework and then plan to print it out before class. It is almost guaranteed that you will run into problems. Leave yourself plenty of time to get things printed out. Also, don’t forget to upload your writing assignments to turnitin.com or your instructor’s web portal. 9. Find a Place to Study Outside of your Room Your dorm room has your roommate, visitors, and a ton of electronics. Then, there’s also the temptation to sleep or clean. Find a nice quite spot on or off campus to do your studying. 10. Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand You won’t always have time to get a proper meal. Carry healthy snacks to munch on during the day, and you won’t be tempted to pig out at night.

Battle of Cambrai - World War I - Western Front - Tanks

Battle of Cambrai - World War I - Western Front - Tanks The Battle of Cambrai was fought November 20 to December 6, 1917, during World War I (1914 to 1918). British General Julian Byng2 corps324 tanks Germans General Georg von der Marwitz1 corps Background In mid-1917, Colonel John F.C. Fuller, the Chief of Staff of the Tank Corps, devised a plan for using armor to raid the German lines. Since the terrain near Ypres-Passchendaele was too soft for tanks, he proposed a strike against St. Quentin, where the ground was hard and dry. As operations near St. Quentin would have required cooperation with French troops, the target was shifted to Cambrai to ensure secrecy. Presenting this plan to British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Fuller was unable to obtain approval as the focus of British operations was on the ​offensive against Passchendaele. While the Tank Corps was developing its plan, Brigadier General H.H. Tudor of the 9th Scottish Division had created a method for supporting a tank attack with a surprise bombardment. This utilized a new method for targeting artillery without registering the guns by observing the fall of shot. This older method frequently alerted the enemy to impending attacks and gave them time to move reserves to the threatened area. Though Fuller and his superior, Brigadier-General Sir Hugh Elles, had failed to gain Haigs support, their plan interested the commander of the Third Army, General Sir Julian Byng. In August 1917, Byng accepted both Elles attack plan and along with Tudors artillery scheme to support it. Through Elles and Fuller had originally intended for the attack to be an eight- to twelve-hour raid, Byng altered the plan and intended to hold any ground that was taken. With fighting bogging down around Passchendaele, Haig relented in his opposition and approved an attack at Cambrai on November 10. Assembling over 300 tanks along a front of 10,000 yards, Byng intended for them to advance with close infantry support to capture enemy artillery and consolidate any gains. A Swift Advance Advancing behind a surprise bombardment, Elles tanks were to crush lanes through the German barbed wire and bridge the German trenches by filling them with bundles of brushwood known as fascines. Opposing the British was the German Hindenburg Line which consisted of three successive lines approximately 7,000 yards deep. These were manned by the 20th Landwehr and 54th Reserve Division. While the 20th was rated as fourth-rate by the Allies, the commander of the 54th had prepared his men in anti-tank tactics utilizing artillery against moving targets. At 6:20 AM on November 20, 1,003, British guns opened fire on the German position. Advancing behind a creeping barrage, the British had immediate success. On the right, troops from Lieutenant General William Pulteneys III Corps advanced four miles with troops reaching Lateau Wood and capturing a bridge over the St. Quentin Canal at Masnià ¨res. This bridge soon collapsed under the weight of the tanks halting the advance. On the British left, elements of the IV Corps had similar success with troops reaching the woods of Bourlon Ridge and the Bapaume-Cambrai road. Only in the center did the British advance stall. This was largely due to Major General G.M. Harper, commander of the 51st Highland Division, who ordered his infantry to follow 150-200 yards behind his tanks, as he thought the armor would draw artillery fire on his men. Encountering elements of the 54th Reserve Division near Flesquià ¨res, his unsupported tanks took heavy losses from the German gunners, including five destroyed by Sergeant Kurt Kruger. Though the situation was saved by the infantry, eleven tanks were lost. Under pressure, the Germans abandoned the village that night. Reversal of Fortune That night, Byng sent his cavalry divisions forward to exploit the breach, but they were forced to turn back due to unbroken barbed wire. In Britain, for the first time since the start of the war, church bells rang in victory. Over the next ten days, the British advance slowed greatly, with III Corps halting to consolidate and the main effort taking place in the north where troops attempted to capture Bourlon Ridge and the nearby village. As German reserves reached the area, the fighting took on the attritional characteristics of many battles on the Western Front. After several days of brutal fighting, the crest of Bourlon Ridge was taken by the 40th Division, while attempts to press east were halted near Fontaine. On November 28, the offensive was halted and British troops began to dig in. While the British had been spending their strength to capture Bourlon Ridge, the Germans had shifted twenty divisions to the front for a massive counterattack. Beginning at 7:00 AM on November 30, German forces employed stormtrooper infiltration tactics which had been devised by General Oskar von Hutier. Moving in small groups, German soldiers bypassed British strong points and made great gains. Quickly engaged all along the line, the British concentrated on holding Bourlon Ridge which allowed the Germans to drive back III Corps to the south. Though fighting quieted on December 2, it resumed the next day with the British being forced to abandon the east bank of the St. Quentin Canal. On December 3, Haig ordered a retreat from the salient, surrendering British gains except for the area around Havrincourt, Ribà ©court, and Flesquià ¨res. Aftermath The first major battle to feature a significant armored attack, British losses at Cambrai numbered 44,207 killed, wounded, and missing while German casualties were estimated at around 45,000. In addition, 179 tanks had been put out of action due to enemy action, mechanical issues, or ditching. While the British gained some territory around Flesquià ¨res, they lost approximately the same amount to the south making the battle a draw. The final major push of 1917, the Battle of Cambrai saw both sides utilize equipment and tactics that would be refined for the following years campaigns. While the Allies continued to develop their armored force, the Germans would employ stormtrooper tactics to great effect during their Spring Offensives.

Law Enforcement Agencies and the Judicial System Research Paper

Law Enforcement Agencies and the Judicial System - Research Paper Example According to the study findings police departments and courts or judicial officers where discrimination is carried out without remorse or fear of the resultant effects. The law enforcement agencies and judicial systems have strayed from their ideal duty of treating all Americans equally. The discriminatory practices are carried out in the form of racism, employment, social groups, gender and judicial punishment and sentence. As the discussion stresses systematic racism entangles police office where young black officers are on the receiving end. The discriminatory practice in the police force does not take into account the fines and punishment that comes with violating racism codes within a government office. The problem is severe when the police target young black men. For example in Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments, there are strong biases against young black men who are perceived to be drug peddlers in the streets. The way policing is done is skewed on the basis of race, and it does not matter if it is a black or white cop. The problem is part of US since it was founded and has targeted the minorities in the state. The policing tactics affect the way they handle crime in neighborhoods dominated by black people. Implicit bias comes into play when police officers use personal and racial oriented tactics. Law enforcement agencies perpetuate racial discrimination when conducting patrols. The officers target poor, crime neighborhoods with segregated populations.

Effect of Sound Exposure on Oysters Research Proposal

Effect of Sound Exposure on Oysters - Research Proposal Example Due to the commercial nature of oysters, developing ways to improve their growth is very valuable. However, no association between sound waves, specifically the effect of high versus low intensity sounds, on the growth of the Pacific oyster have ever been studied. Sound exposure at high frequencies and intensities has been studied with respect to other plants, animals and fish, and the general conclusion is that sound has either no effect, or a positive effect on growth and survival upto a certain level. Specific Aim: The purpose of this research study is to determine the effect of increasing sound exposure (the intensity and frequency) on (1) the growth rate and (2) the survival of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Hypothesis: The working hypothesis is that increasing the intensity and frequency of sound exposure will cause a corresponding increase in the growth rate and survival of the oysters until a high level of sound intensity and frequency. Further, increasing the frequen cy and intensity of sound beyond that point will lead to either no further increase in growth, or cause a damaging effect and slow down their growth rate, or cause oysters to die. This study will be carried out by using oysters from an oyster farm. There will be 2 experiments involved, one will use oyster eggs and the other will use newly-formed larvae. This would be an experimental study using 6 groups of oyster eggs and larvae: 5 groups of eggs will be exposed to sound vibrations of increasing intensities and frequencies as follow: (1) 25 dB and 200 Hz, (2) 50 dB and 400 Hz, (3)75 dB and 600 Hz, (4)100 dB and 800 Hz, and (5)125 dB and 1000 Hz. The 6th will be exposed to no sounds (silence). Similarly, 6 groups of oyster larvae that are freshly spawned will be exposed to sound as detailed for eggs above. The total sample size of oysters would be 30 (5 in each group). 50 eggs will be used in each eggs group. Duration of the study would be 3 weeks, with the site as the local oyster f arm. Sub-aim (1) To determine the effect of increasing sound intensity and frequency on survival during the first stage of oyster life: hatching from eggs to larvae to form ‘spat’. For this experiment, oyster larvae will be used, as normally only a small percentage of eggs spawn into larvae, we will determine whether more larvae are spawned in the presence of sound. Sub-aim (2) To determine the effect of increasing sound intensity and frequency on oyster growth from the larvae stage to the juvenile form over a period of 3 weeks. This experiment will use larvae newly spawned, and the mass of larvae at the end of 3 weeks will be measured, with some larvae exposed to sound, others to silence. If the mass of larvae that were exposed to sound is greater than the group that was in silence, it would prove the study hypothesis. Sub-aim (3) To determine the optimum intensity and frequency of sound at which the highest oyster growth is seen. Sound exposure will be given using sou nd fields into the water, sound intensity of 25 dB, 50 dB, 75 dB, 100 dB and 125 dB, and corresponding frequencies of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 100 Hz will be given to oyster eggs and larvae in different groups, and the mass of oysters will be measured for each group at the end of the experiment. As each group of