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The Ordinary Cdbs Is Relation Database System - 1565 Words

This paper describes the ordinary CDBS is Relation Database System (RDBS), which has the great system for transactions processing and locking. Locking mechanism in DDBS is similar to that in RDBS, but it is more complex because of data distribution and transaction concurrence in distributed database system. state that the Lock table and Two-stage Locking convention (2PL) are utilized as a part of Relation Database Management System (RDBMS) with multi-granularity convention for accessing operation of lock scheduler. The lock table correspondence describes each element that s locked in the lock table.There are 3 locking models for RDBMS namely DB2,Oracle,Sql server 2005. Row-level shared locks allow multiple users to read data, but do not allow any users to change that data.Table-level shared locks allow multiple users to perform read and write operations on the table, but do not allow any users to perform DDL operations.Multiple users can hold shared locks simultaneously. An exclusiv e lock allows only one user/connection to update a particular piece of data (insert, update, and delete). When one user has an exclusive lock on a row or table, no other lock of any type may be placed on it. Each Xact must obtain a S (shared) lock on object before reading, and an X (exclusive) lock on object before writing. A transaction can release its locks once it has performed its desired operation (R or W). A transaction cannot request additional locks once it releases any locks. All locksShow MoreRelatedProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pageson acid-free paper. @ Copyright O 2006 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of t he 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permissionRead MoreDeterminants of International Trade Essay22457 Words   |  90 Pagesthis field was originally very poor but since the second half of the 1970s several theoretical developments have appeared in support of the gravity model (Anderson, 1979; Bergstrand, 1985 and 1989; Helpman and Krugman, 1996; Deardorff, 1995). In relation to why does gravity work, Harrigan (2001) discriminates between aggregated and disaggregated studies. This author states that “most of the evidence that gravity works comes from aggregated data (Â…) it is surprising how little work has been done

Social Media Marketing & Improved Consumer-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Importance of Social Media in Conducting Business. Answer: Introduction: The importance of social media in conducting business in a highly competitive world can never be overstated. While on the one hand, the efficient use of social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram help the emerging companies gain recognition amongst the consumers, it also assists already recognized companies increase their traffic to their official websites. Since the inception of social media sites, these sites have been utilized by the business organizations to build relation with the consumers and keep them updated about the new products and services. However, presently, the advent of professional sites like LinkedIn has also simplified the job of the Human Resource Managers of an organization, helping them attract talented workforce without spending huge amount of money or long hours tryng to get in touch with the deserving employees. There can be no gain stating the obvious fact that social media marketing is no longer an optional matter, but an integral marketing strategy. It is indeed an essential way to reach out to the customers, gain valuable insights about their attitude towards the brand, and build the brand reputation (Aral et al. 2013). However, despite the potential advantages of social media marketing, there are certain intricacies of social media marketing which can prove to be hard and challenging to manage. For example, lack of security on the information shared on these sites, difficulty in controlling negative feedback of clients, and time-intensive marketing procedure requires much supervision over the social media activities. Hence, there are both advantages as well as serious disadvantages behind the use of social media. Discussion: Social Media Marketing and Improved Consumer Loyalty: One of the principal marketing strategies each organization wishes to incorporate in its business plan is to attract potential clients as well as to retain the existent customers. However, most of the companies in todays world encounter cut-throat competition and find it hard to retain its clients. Herein lays the importance of social media marketing. According to the survey report by Sensis, 90% of the Australians belonging to the age group of 18to 39 years have daily access to the social media sites out of which 95% of them use Facebook on a daily basis (Ngai et al. 2015). Similarly, research reports also suggest that in Australia, there are approximately 5,000,000 active users of Instagram while as many as 14,800,000 people daily watches videos on YouTube. Figure 1: Use of Social Media in Australia, 2017 Source: (Rodriguez et al. 2015) It becomes clearly evident that large number of people uses social media and thus advertising a product on these sites will help in attracting attention of the consumer towards a new brand or a new offer of an old brand. The use of interesting, emotional and catchy stories in the form of videos on YouTube can also help the customers become aware of a brand, even though the consumers themselves may not realize that a brand name was endorsed in the process of playing the video. Often many companies share pictures of their new products, offer discounts by engaging consumers who are their followers on these sites and respond to the consumer grievances and queries via social media sites like Facebook Messenger, Twitter, etc. This form of continuous interaction with the client helps in building relation with the consumers. Gain Insights into Customer Needs: In order to make better business decisions as well as to ensure longer sustainability, business organizations need to understand the changing needs of the consumers. Each new day, there are approximately 500 million tweets, 4.5 billion likes on Facebook as well as 95 million photos posted on Instagram, and a company can easily understand its position in the competitive market, by analyzing the number of likes and shares its posts and pictures receive each new day (Agnihotri et al. 2016). Further, it should be noted that most of the earlier studies have focused on the benefits of social media tools and have overlooked the significant use of social media analytic tool like Hootsuite Insights, that help in gauging customer response to these social sites, as well as critically analyze the interaction of the consumers about the specific brand over the social media sites (Holt 2016). With the help of prominent graphic visualizations, this analytical tool helps in informing the company abou t the changing behavior of the customers. Social Media Aids in Targeting Relevant Audience: While targeting relevant audience is a matter of primary importance, creating customized clients and sharing advertisements exclusively with them is important. The use of popular hash tags on Instagram and Twitter can always attract the relevant audience, for example, #glasses can help in attracting sunglass consumers. Since the Facebook newsfeed becomes overcrowded with multiple adverts, organizations seeking immediate consumer attention can also employ the use of Google+ and Sprout that enable demographic or interest-based audience targeting, which in turn enhances the visibility of the adverts (Scott 2015). Use of Blogs in Marketing a Product and Enhancing the Brand Image: While discussing about social media marketing, it should be noted that most of the organizations focus on the well-known and most popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, many companies fail to develop consumer awareness simply because they ignore blogs and review sites which also help in enhancing their visibility. This is the reason why companies, especially the small and emerging ones, which are present on Yelp and Pinterest, are able to network and promote their business much more effectively (Tuten and Solomon 2014). Besides, many companies use online blogs to attract strangers, turn them into regular visitors and ultimately sell them products. Figure 2: Diagram Showing how Blogs Work Source: (Fuchs 2017) As evident from the above diagram, engaging bloggers to write blogs for a company help in enhancing the traffic coming to the company website, ultimately helping to convert the traffic into leads. Social Media as a Recruitment Weapon: Although it is less acknowledged a fact, social media does assist an organization attract talented workforce as well. According to research reports, 61% of the employees use social media sites to research about a company, and hence the presence of an organization on social sites helps in creating the employer brand (Treem et al. 2013). Hence, having an established social media presence is highly important. Besides, needless to state that many potential employers connect with the suitable and deserving employees via professional social media sites like LinkedIn. Cost-efficient Marketing Tactic: Endorsing a product or developing the brand image via social sites was never so cheaper with traditional media such as newspapers or television and radio adverts. According to research reports, social media sites like Facebook and Google are not only going to overtake a major part of the TV audience, but also enables business organizations to endorse their products absolutely at free of cost. Unlike any other media, social media allows an organization reach out to a huge number of people at once with no cost other than installation of social media sites. Social Media is Time Intensive: Although the social media sites have been considered to be efficient tools for marketing, the use of social media marketing takes a lot of time. In fact, the idea of social media site is based on two-way communication process (Okazak and Taylor 2013). Hence, a marketing manager will have to actively monitor the interaction over the sites, respond to each individual comment, as well as handle customer queries about product information, price details, and others with much time and patience. Social Media as a Cost-Intensive Medium is a Myth: Social media marketing can also get very expensive. First of all, since social media marketing requires constant engagement with client, it is important to hire at least a couple of marketing managers who will be entrusted with the duty of sharing posts or responding to consumer queries. Although content marketing helps a company to increase traffic to its website, each new day at least 500 new websites are being created writing blogs and articles and promoting various products. In order to stay in the competition, companies have to spend huge amount of money for paid advertisements, and as per the recent IZEA survey, 61% of the marketers pay a higher amount to an external marketer for promoting their products (Hays et al. 2013). Opening up an account on these sites is easier, but without paid advertisements, attracting new consumers is almost impossible. Social Media Sites Often Lead to Negative Reputation: Consumer dissatisfaction is not a new issue, and in fact a earlier times also, consumers used to complaint about the product or service they did not like. However, the problem arises when these unhappy customers get an opportunity of giving a company one star rating, poor review openly on the social media sites (Rokka et al. 2014). This negative feedback can instantly malign the reputation of a company and dissuade its potential customers to stay loyal to the company. In fact, the negative feedback, information leaks or hacking remain some of the most potential drawbacks of social media marketing. Social Media and Hacking Issues: The social media sites can also prove to be intrusive to the privacy of many companies. A variety of malware, spyware, adware and ransom ware can lead to hacking issues. In case the official account of a company is hacked, it can lead to the offensive customer reactions and failed marketing efforts (Georgescu and Popescul 2015). Identification of Literature Gap: Although most of the literary articles and business journals reviewed, state the importance of the social networking sites in enhancing brand reputation and increasing sales, the number of research articles discussing the limitations and drawbacks is very limited. Further, most of the literary articles have primarily focused on the most well-known social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. However, some of the less known social media sites find no mention here. Conclusion: To sum it up, it becomes clearly evident that the social networking sites are of much use to help a company in its marketing efforts. It is a well-known fact that the social media is critical to the marketing and customer service success of any organization operating in any part of the world. Reduction in the price of marketing and promotion, easy access to a larger customer base, opportunity for direct customer interaction and customer feedback, as well as improved ranking on search engine websites definitely boost the sales and brand reputation of a company. However, social media tools used for business must be managed well in order to ensure marketing success as there are potential drawbacks as well. Reference List: Agnihotri, R., Dingus, R., Hu, M.Y. and Krush, M.T., 2016. Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales.Industrial Marketing Management,53, pp.172-180. Aral, S., Dellarocas, C. and Godes, D., 2013. Introduction to the special issuesocial media and business transformation: a framework for research.Information Systems Research,24(1), pp.3-13. Fuchs, C., 2017.Social media: A critical introduction. Sage. Georgescu, M. and Popescul, D., 2015. Social Mediathe new paradigm of collaboration and communication for business environment.Procedia Economics and Finance,20, pp.277-282. Hays, S., Page, S.J. and Buhalis, D., 2013. Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations.Current issues in Tourism,16(3), pp.211-239. Holt, D., 2016. Branding in the age of social media.Harvard business review,94(3), pp.40-50. Ngai, E.W., Tao, S.S. and Moon, K.K., 2015. Social media research: Theories, constructs, and conceptual frameworks.International Journal of Information Management,35(1), pp.33-44. Okazaki, S. and Taylor, C.R., 2013. Social media and international advertising: theoretical challenges and future directions.International marketing review,30(1), pp.56-71. Rodriguez, M., Peterson, R.M. and Ajjan, H., 2015. CRM/social media technology: impact on customer orientation process and organizational sales performance. InIdeas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old(pp. 636-638). Springer, Cham. Rokka, J., Karlsson, K. and Tienari, J., 2014. Balancing acts: Managing employees and reputation in social media.Journal of Marketing Management,30(7-8), pp.802-827. Scott, D.M., 2015.The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly. John Wiley Sons. Treem, J.W. and Leonardi, P.M., 2013. Social media use in organizations: Exploring the affordances of visibility, editability, persistence, and association.Annals of the International Communication Association,36(1), pp.143-189. Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2014.Social media marketing. Sage.

Swisher Motor Case Analysis Essay Example

Swisher Motor Case Analysis Paper Wayne Swisher, President and Chief Executive Office of Swisher Mower and Machine Company (SMC), was weighing the proposal of a private branding arrangement for SMC’s line of riding mowers. He thought the inquiry presented an opportunity but details should be studied more closely. Situation Analysis: Company Background: Established in 1945 by Max Swisher, SMC grew steadily with unit volume for SMC riding mowers peaking at 10,000 units with sales of $2 million in 1966. In the 1990s, the unit volume remained constant with around 4,250 riding mowers per year. Compared with 1,263,000 unit sales in riding mowers and tractors industry, SMC only occupied around 0. 3% market share. Max Swisher, the current CEO, thought maintaining a small company image had also been an important aspect of his business philosophy, which led to the good personal relationships with dealers and customers alike. SMC produced limited but differentiated products. SMC’s flagship product, the Ride King, was credited with the first zero-turning-radius riding mower. SMC also produced a trail-mower called T-44 with a cutting width of 44 inches. Kits, the self-propelled push mower, accounted for 8. 2% of SMC’s total sales, though it did not provide a material contribution to the company’s gross profits. The replacement parts for mowers posed a good business for SMC, accounting for 20% of the total sales. The following table showed the detailed comparison of the percentage in total sales and total gross profits across different modes of mower together with replacement parts. 1995 dataRide KingT-44KitsReplacement Modes of MowerRiding MowerTrail-mowerPush mower/ % of total Sales63. 60%8. 20%8. 0%20% % of Gross Profits57. 80%13. 20%029% SMC planned to broaden SMC product line in 1996 by introducing a high-wheel string trimmer product, Trim-Max, a high-wheel, walk-behind product. With manufacturing plant in Warrensburg, Missouri, SMC owned an annual capacity of 10,000 riding mower units on a single 40-hour-per-week shift with distribution mainly in non-metropolitan areas. About 75% of sales of SMC were made in non-m etropolitan areas. SMC sold 30% through wholesalers, 25% through direct-to-dealer, 40% as private-label, and the rest 5% as exports. We will write a custom essay sample on Swisher Motor Case Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Swisher Motor Case Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Swisher Motor Case Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It sold the Ride King through wholesalers, who located throughout the country, focusing on farm dealers situated in the south central and southeastern US. SMC remained a profitable company since its founding with a net profit return on sales of 10 percent or more annually. The sound financial position minimized the need for any major short-term or long-term financing. Industry Backgrounds: Riding lawn mowers are classified as lawn and garden equipment with two basic configurations, the front-engine lawn tractors and rear engine riding mowers. However there are some mid-engine riding mowers on the market, such as those produced by SMC. Front-engine lawn tractors are the most popular design followed by rear-engine and mid-engine models. Rear engined lawn tractors are perceived as stronger and more durable. Competition in riding lawn mower market was fierce with ten manufacturers comprising major competitors in 1995, while SMC only occupied around 0. 3%, based on sales units. All these companies made Riding mowers under a nationally branded name and at the same time were engaged in private-label production. It was estimated that private-label mowers account for 65 to 75 percent of total industry sales. Each riding mower manufacturer priced its products at price points. The representative retail prices for national and private-label riding mowers typically ranged from $800 to $5,000. The manufacturer’s price of Ride King of SMC, $ 650, was quite comparative, compared with industry average. Sales trends of riding mowers were cyclical and highly seasonal. With slice decline of sales in 1991, projections for 1995 and 1996 point toward further increases in unit volume. Industry statistics show that over half of manufacturer shipments of these products occur in the four-month period from January to April. A SWOT Analysis on current situation of SMC: InternalStrengthsWeaknesses Producto Distinct products o High quality, simple design, ease-to-use and maintain, no significant claim o Interchangeable parts o Competitive priceo Limited range of products o Perception on rear and mid engine not as strong and durable as front-engine Managemento Customer-oriented Personal relationship with dealer, distributors and end-customers o CEO expertise in marketing, VP of Sales for 6 yearso One man makes all the decision o Small business mentality Marketingo Co-op advertising with its dealers o Good relationship with dealers and end-customerso Previously neglected consumer advertising o Insufficient attention for promotion and advertising campaign o No national distribution network RDo One new product on the way (Trim Max)o Not so aggressive Financeo Consistent net profit of approx. 10 percent o Adequate cash flow to finance operation o Minimize the need for short-term or long-term financingo Poor cost management o Possible liabilities – self-insurance of products External OpportunitiesThreats Market expansiono Limited market coverage (south central, southeastern). Potential expansion to the west o New target market include consumer housing, in addition to farms o Private labels business may be growingo Many big competitors like Honda, John Deere, American Yard Production etc with stronger financial resources and economic size of capacity Industry Outlooko Growing industrieso Cyclical industry o After next year, industry may be down Technologyo Possibility for automation by technology development in long term (production streamline, cost reduction)o Imitation is allowed as patent expired Problem Statement How to grow the business since sales plateau existed for almost 20 years despite continuous profits? This is what Wayne Swisher had been concerned for several years. In early 1996, Wayne Swisher received a certified letter from a major national retail merchandise chain, inquiring about a private branding arrangement for SMC’s line of riding mowers. Wayne had to decide whether or not to accept the proposal as well as the next step to grow SMC. The Private-label Proposal Contract: A 2-year contract which could be automatically extended on a year-to-year basis, with price and other terms negotiable then. Also can be terminated by any party with a 6-month notice. ? Product: Minor changes based on Ride King ? Order: An annual order of approximately 8,200 units, a sample order of 700 standard riding mower units to be delivered in Jan1997. ? Price: FOB; 5% discount on SMC’s manufacturer’s list price for its standard model; Reorders will be at the same price Marketing: SMC did not need to make any promotion effort to either the chain or the consumers. In addition, the private label relationship with the chain should be held confidential. ? Negotiable Inventory holding payment term: The chain would carry inventories in its regional warehouse. However, only until the mowers were shipped to a company store, or only when they had been in a regional warehouse for 2 months, would title be transferred and would the 45 da ys’ payment term start to take effect. Warranty: SMC’s standard warranty would be required for all mower parts. SMC was expected to bear any labor costs resulting from warranty work at $22 per hour. Replacement parts would be sold to the chain at present price point and shipped FOB factory. Proposal evaluation To facilitate our analysis with limited information, the following reasonable assumptions are taken: a) Unit sales without cannibalization, selling prices and costs (except the additional costs mentioned in the case) of Ride King would remain the level of 1995. b) Ignore the impact of decreasing unit fixed cost with expanded production volume. ) Recognize sales in late 1996, though the sample order of 700 was to be shipped and sales were to be recognized in 1997 d) Assume consistent cannibalization rate among two-year contract period (=300 cannibalized annually/8,200 annually) e) Average the one-time costs of $10000~12000, i. e. $11,000, and the costs are expense d when accepting the proposal. f) Assume SMC could well arrange production and avoid excess OT work for PL/Ride King over the minimum of 2100 units/year. g) Assume the new mowers under proposal (â€Å"PL†) occupied the same capacity as Ride King did. ) Assume after negotiation, title can be transferred upon shipment from SMC. Sales Analysis (Table A) Total Ride King Sales, both the original and those from Private Label proposal (â€Å"PL†), would be 4,874, 12,100 and 12,100 units for year 1996~1998 respectively, with net increase of 674, 7,900 and 7,900 after cannibalization. Financial Analysis ? Additional income per unit (Table B) * As stated in Assumption b), united fixed cost is overstated. Hence, gross profit of the proposal would be slightly higher. Hence, the proposal would bring an additional per unit income of $42. 5 (gross profit of 6. 5%) if within the 10,000 capacity with a single 40-hour-per-week shift and an additional income of $16. 25 (i. e. GP of 2. 5% ) if over capacity with overtime work. ? Capacity Analysis (Table C) Assume SMC could manage to arrange a smooth production without significant fluctuation to counter the seasonal delivery. Hence, production volume could be consistent with sales volume as shown in Table A. Hence, in 1996, as total production volume still under capacity, no overtime work for PL needed. While for both 1997 and 1998, 2,100 units of PL would be produced with overtime work. Incremental Income (Table D) Based on the assumption and calculation above, total incremental income can be derived as follows. The proposal would generate an extra net profit before tax for SMC of $11,098, $88,850 and $88,850 in year 1996, 1997 and 1998 respectively. On the base of year 1995, the sharp increase in sales by 178% would bring in a 21% increase in net profit before tax. Table D Ride King199619971998 Cannibalization loss Gross Profit per unit97. 5097. 5097. 50 Cannibalized volume-26-300-300 Cannibalization lost-2,535-29,2 50-29,250 Additional Income from PL Within capacity Volume7006,1006,100 Gross Profit per unit (see Table B)42. 2542. 2542. 25 Additional Income29,575257,725257,725 Over capacity Volume02,1002,100 Gross Profit per unit (see Table B)16. 2516. 2516. 25 Additional Income034,12534,125 Total Additional Income29,575291,850291,850 Incremental Income27,040262,600262,600 Additional Cost One-time cost-$11,000$0$0 **Additional Financial expenses For additional AR (ignore that of sample)$0-$57,929-$57,929 For additional Inventory (Average inventory of 2100units. )$0-$116,091-$116,091 Additional net profit before tax$16,040$88,580$88,580 1995199619971998 Additional net profit before tax $11,098$88,580$88,580 Net Profit$430,200$446,240$518,780$518,780 % increase in net profit 3. 73%20. 59%20. 59% Sales -Ride King $2,713,354$2,535,000$2,535,000 -PL $432,250$5,063,500$5,063,500 Sales$2,730,000$3,145,350$7,598,500$7,598,500 % increase in sales 15. 21%178. 33%178. 33% For detailed information on Additional Financial Expenses, please see the Table F as follows: (To simply analysis of AR financing cost, we ignore cannibalization of the sample order, and use the same selling price and payment term of PLs for the small quantity of cannibalized Ride King. Also, we ignore the inventory financing cost for 1996. ) ** Additional Financial Expenses 199619971998 Cost to finance additional AR Cannibalized Ride King-26-300-300 PL7008,2008,200 Net Additional Unit Sales 6747,9007,900 Net increase in Sales (@617. 5)$416,195$4,878,250$4,878,250 Impact on AR (45 days /360)$52,024$609,781$609,781 Cost to finance additional AR (@ 9. 5%)$4,942$57,929$57,929 Cost to finance additional Inventory Additional average inventory (assume nil for sample order)02,1002,100 Average unit cost [=((6100*(650-42. 25)+2100*(650-33. 5))/8200]$0$582$582 Average inventory cost$0$1,222,008$1,222,008 Cost to finance additional Inventory (@ 9. 5%)$0$116,091$116,091 ? Sensitivity Analysis: In order to gauge the risks associated with the terms and conditions of the proposal, SMC tried to analyze the sensitivity of the sales and profits to the changes of terms and conditions in payment terms, inventory costs, interest rates and cannibalization volume. To illustrate the point clearer, the breakeven point of each terms and condition is calculated with other situation held constant. SensitivityNo Additional Profit Payment terms -65% 114 days Extra holding inventory-131%3,700units Interest rate-196% 14. 3% Cannibalization volume -22%1,690units Because all these conditions above are unlikely to happen, SMC can be rather confident that the proposal is quite favorable in making profits. Evaluation of the proposal Just like a coin has two sides, the proposal also has pros and cons. SMC can benefit from the private label proposal from six aspects. SMC can enjoy the increase in sales and profits after accepting the proposal. The details can be seen in the following table: 19951996 Increase*1997Increase*1998Increase* Sales2,730,0003,145,60415. 22%7,598,500178. 33%7,598,500178. 33% Net Profits430,200446,2403. 73%518,78020. 59%518,78020. 59% * % increase versus those in 1995 If SMC accepted the proposal, its sales could rocket up almost 178% in 1997, compared to sales in 1995. It profits could be increased by 21% in 1997, compared to those in 1995. The proposal posed a good opportunity to SMC to increase sales and profits. †¢SMC could also benefit from stable demands for its products in the next two years. The private proposal would offer stable orders to SMC. †¢SMC could fully utilize its currently idle production capacity. Without acceptance of this private label proposal, the idle manufacturing capacity is 5,800 units per annum, more than 50% of total capacity. The high opportunity cost incurred could not be neglected. †¢Furthermore, SMC could utilize this opportunity to make entry into the most important retail distribution channel: national retail merchandise chains, which currently accounts for 24% of the national market. †¢Moreover, this proposal could provide an extra benefit of free test market! In fact, SMC remains a regional manufacturer of riding mowers for almost half a century. Its sales had plateaued for a decade while industry as a whole embraced record increase in recent years. SMC could take this precious chance to survey customer reaction across US to its unique mid-engine products with the help of the mass merchandise distributor’s strength of marketing without even using any of SMC’s scarce valuable marketing resources. †¢Additionally, this new challenge would be a best learning opportunity for SMC when it operates on a scale twice the size of current operation. SMC could learn how to cope with the production within or even exceeding full capacity. For example, stretched manufacturing would lead to unprecedented pressure for purchasing department, warehouse management, logistics, etc. On the other hand, SMC should look at the other side of coin and analyze the cons of the private label proposal as well. †¢Upon adopting the proposal, SMC would contribute more than 50% of its capacity for Ride King to one single private label mower production. Furthermore the improvement of SMC’s own brand could be limited by the remaining 42% production capacity. Limited capacity could hamper the introduction of new product, say missing the good timing, or could lead SMC to miss the good chance to grow current brand, say if demand for current brand increased. Other than capacity, the proposal also put pressure on SMC’s other resources, such as financial budget, labor, general management, etc. Private label production would consume a certain part of the limited and valuable corporate resources. †¢Moreover, accepting proposal to manufacture private brand and distribute the private brand through other channels might lead to potential conflict with its traditional distributors. Although the chain’s outlets were located in metropolitan areas, there would be some overlap in trade areas with SMC’s current dealers. SMC, a small concern, relies heavily on its regional dealers to promote its products to consumers. Such a bold move might lead to certain percentage of independent dealers to drop the SMC line. †¢The less profitable Private Label could cannibalize 300 units of the sales of more profitable Ride King annually in 1997 and 1998. What is more, the cannibalization rate could be higher than estimated 300 units a year. †¢ Additionally, SMC had to bear the risks ssociated with the private label plan. Accepting the proposal is confronted with two uncertainties. One is that the mower producer had committed two third of its current capacity to one single distributor. Once there was no renewal of the contract, it would be difficult to develop another comparable buyer. The other is that the contract would be terminated midway, i. e. one par ty is entitled to break the deal with a six-month notice beforehand at any time. Furthermore, although the total sales and output would expand almost twice, the increase in profits will not keep the same pace with the increase of the sales. Finally, SMC should consider other potential costs. For example, sudden expanded production might lead to quality insurance challenges. The product liability claims might eat up the minute increase in profit from the contract. Plus, the warranty costs would $22 per labor hour. Alternatives: ? Alternative 1: Accept the proposal and, in the long run, develop own brand based on the experiences of private label production: SMC should incorporate the consideration of the following elements when accepting the offer. Firstly, during negotiation with the mass distributor, SMC should try its best to make the contract terms more favorable. Albeit its bargaining power is somewhat limited, as a reliable provider of a highly differentiated mower product, SMC had some say on the some part of the contract. To negotiate to transfer title upon shipment by SMC would be very reasonable and fair. Holding inventory of an average of 2,100 units in the chain’s regional warehouse under SMC’s title would be very unfavorable to SMC, given PL’s high average monthly inventory financing cost of ~$4. 61 per unit per month and even higher AR financing cost of ~$4. 9 per unit. Although SMC would not hold a big chance for this as in title transfer, still Wayne could try as 15-day could save SMC an AR financing cost of ~$19,310 a year. †¢ Secondly, in order to enhance its own brand and strengthen its own brand product, SMC should make this deal only as a short run option. Production of private label can only be regarded as a temporary way to improve SMC’s sales and profits, and is not a reliable one in the long run. To develop its core competency, SMC has to emphasize on improving its own brand image and establishing its own national distribution channel. Further actions should be taken if SMC decides to accept the proposal: Aimprove its current product mix. In its four core products, Kits makes up to 8. 2% of its annual sales yet offer zero profits. With the coordination among its relevant functional area within the firm, SMC could gradually drop the whole product line of Kits if it could not improve its profitability. BHire more temporary labor to avoid excessive overtime work Since the firm scaled up its production, it should hire temporary labor with adequate training to ensure the on-time delivery and quality control. Excessive overworking for a long period might causes the decrease in both workers’ productivity and production quality. Of course, SMC should reach a good trade-off between the costs to hire extra hands and the improvement in productivity and quality. C Establish nationwide distribution network Unsatisfied being a regional riding mower provider, SMC should take the chance of free market test provided by the private label proposal to help establish its own national distribution network. Western part of United Sates poses great new chance for SMC. DDiversification of product lines It is important for SMC to build more consumers-oriented mower in addition to its current farm mower offering. For example, mowers used in cutting the grass in garden offer great potential for SMC since SMC are already quite specialized in movers used by farmers. The change in product orientation would help it to capture different market niche and widen its target customer base. ? Alternative 2: Reject the proposal and concentrate on the development of own brands: On the other hand, SMC should consider further actions to develop alternative strategies if it rejects the proposal to produce the private label. ALaunching of new product: Trim Max. If rejecting the offer, the company could put more of its limited resources to the launch of Trim Max as a strategic move, widening its product line of trail-movers under the Swisher name. But the firm will possibly be confronted with some uncertainties, such as poor sales of Trim Max. BImproving profitability of Kits or discontinue it Among SMC’s four core products, Kits makes up to 8. 2% of SMC’s annual sales yet offers zero profits. With better coordination among its relevant functional areas within the firm, SMC could examine closely the root causes of the unprofitability of Kits and try to eliminate the non-value added portion of the value chain. If SMC cannot improve Kits’ profitability at last, it should consider dropping the production of Kits at all. CEstablishing nationwide distribution network Upon rejection of the offer, in the long run, SMC should put its efforts on establishing national distribution network for its product mix, especially Trim Max, the new introduction to the market. As we mentioned earlier, the western part of United Sates is untouched yet. SMC could try to push the distribution channel toward the western part. DDiversifying product lines The advent of the new product, Trim Max, would no doubt improve the product diversification. Furthermore, SMC should expand the newly introduced products and reduce the reliance on its old flagship product, the Ride King, which was designed in the 1950s. EMore advertising Obviously, the introduction of the new product should be fully assisted by full-scale advertisements and vigorous promotions. SMC can promote its products in the current geographic scope of distribution channel to expand the sales. Furthermore, SMC could consider vigorously promoting its product to the untouched part, the western part of US, and help to set up the national distribution channels. Final decision: After delving into all the pros and cons of the two alternatives, Wayne believes that SMC should adopt this private label proposal with eyes on the long-term development of own brand. Major reasons: For SMC, the benefits are comprised of both direct and indirect contributions. Direct cost saving and profit generation, Aexcess capacity utilization The most important reason to accept this offering is that SMC can make a full use of its capacity and make more profit. As we have explored previously, SMC has around 60% of idle capacity which comprised a potential opportunity costs. In addition, analyzing from economics’ angle, we find that total fixed costs of SMC’ s products remain unchange d with the utilization of idle capacity. The additional revenue arising from the sales of private label may possibly increase profits in SMC. BProfitability In 1996, sales can increase by 15. 2% and net profits would boost by 3. 74% after accepting the proposal. In the next two years, the sales and net profits will be rocketed to 178. 3% and 20. 59%, respectively, comparing with those in 1995. †¢ Indirect benefits on regarding the production of private label as a stepping stone to promoting SMC’s own brand AAccumulation of profits to finance future development The increased profit aroused from the contract could be accumulated as retained earning to finance the company’s future expansion. This is especially true, when SMC is of such a small scale (market share is less than one percent). It would be quite difficult to fully expand after sales and profits had plateaued for more than a decade. At this stage, private label production could provide SMC with necessary profits, which could finance future development. BAccumulation of operational experience The firm can get much precious experience on operating business on a larger scale and in full capacity. The experience includes management, marketing, operation and technology experience. All of these experiences should be considered as a preparation for great leap in the future. One afternoon in early 1996, Wayne Swisher, satisfied with his analysis about the current and future development of SMC, was confident that SMC could both benefit from the private label proposal, the birds at hand, and stay in track with the long-term development of SMC’s own brand. The funds, raised by utilization of excess capacity and the production of private label, and the experiences learned from production in full capacity, could assist SWC to step further to fully develop its own brands in the long run.

Urban Reform In China Example

Urban Reform In China Example Urban Reform In China – Book Report/Review Example Urban Reform in China Today’s China is significantly different compared to several decades ago.Chapter 13 highlights important transitions in the Chinese economy since 1978. It is evident from the reading that infrastructural, financial, corporate, and structural systems are more dynamic today than they were in 1970s. In that respect, this reading supports the notion that economic changes are fundamental. The shift from a planned to a market economy has brought unprecedented benefits to the Chinese society. With an outstanding economic growth over the years, both people and businesses have had a suitable environment for investment.There are lessons to draw from the reading. To start with, it is easy to note that privatization and diversification of resources is an advantageous move for China. Reducing government control and adopting a corporate-driven market development laid the foundation for China’s social and economic reform. Secondly, it is evident that social and e conomic transitions take time to implement. From 1978 to date, China’s industrial transition has been an ongoing process. Most importantly, there is need for collaboration between the government, the industry under transition, and the entire corporate setting. The success realized in China comes from the cooperation and collaboration of the aforementioned parties.Finally yet importantly, agency regulation and oversight authority is paramount. The big question, however, is whether the government accords regulatory agencies adequate autonomy and independence. Whatever the case in that regard, the reading is undoubtedly insightful, informative, and relevant to contemporary global economic development. The chapter shows just how much market economy contributes to China’s industrial reforms.

Managerial Marketing-discussion Blogs Example

Managerial Marketing Managerial Marketing Managerial Marketing-Discussion Blogs: Social Media Managerial Marketing-Discussion Blogs: Social Media Sledgianowski and Kulviwat, S. (2009) establishes a comprehensive plan on how to utilize the potential in social networking for marketing and advertisement programs. There are various topics discussed in relation to the issue of social networking in relation to marketing. The first topic focus on identifying the available social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Ning, Linkdln, and YouTube. The other section discusses the business models for online social networking sites. This is for the purpose of determining the way a marketer should make reasonable decisions while investing in the social networking sites for effective promotion and marketing. Apparently, the social Networking sites have been experiencing an exponential increase in popularity due to their viral nature. These sites such are Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and many others that are self promoting since the users spread the word about the site (Naraine, 2004). Therefore, the growth of the social network is determined by its spread; in fact, this attribute concerning social media growth and spread is appealing for integration with efforts of marketing products and services. It has also resulted to recognition of the social media potential, and numerous marketers are taking the chance to use it for their competitive advantage. On the other hand, as a marketing manager I can use information for elaborating the significance of the user-generated content in the marketing and explore trademark and copyright issues. Therefore, this paper offers ideas on general legal standards applicable to social media marketing and discusses compliance with terms and conditions of social media outlets and the implementation of a company based terms and conditions. The article offers pertinent ideas regarding the significance of retaining records concerning the use of social media that can be usefu l for a marketing manager.ReferencesNaraine R. (2004). Social Networks In Search of Business Models. Retrieved on August 12 2013 from Sledgianowski, D. & kulviwat, S. (2009). Using social network sites: The effects of playfulness, critical mass, and trust in a hedonic context. Journal of Computer Information Systems, pp.74-83

Religious persecution in Indonesia ( government of Indonesia is Research Paper

Religious persecution in Indonesia ( government of Indonesia is turning to a blind eye towards it) - Research Paper Example Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, chaired a meeting with his cabinet and established a constitution law that requires the future president candidates to be a Muslim in order to curb persecution of Christians and other minorities in Indonesia. Having Muslim as a religion will make government officials have a more stable position to this problem. This attracts several people to convert to Muslim and to some extent; they are willing to change their name to Islamic (Aragon 39-41). Religious discrimination is a serious issue in Indonesia and yet the government is not taking any action to solve this issue. They should be more understanding and respect other religions. Although it has subsided recently, discrimination against religion in Indonesia is still visible and vibrant. The religious conflicts have been solely targeting Christians. Indonesia is the world’s largest and fastest growing Muslim country in the world. Being a third world country, Indonesia has unstable political structure and racial and religious discrimination common. Today, discrimination is regarded as an ordinary daily occurrence and sometimes it may have gone too far. In this particular country, discrimination against religion had hurt hundreds and even taken several lives. For instance, to demonstrate the pain the Christians are going through in Indonesia, extreme persecution and violence is the order of the day in that at some point, three Christian school girls were mercilessly b eheaded by masked attackers (AtlasShrug. Com n.d). The girls were attending a Christian school when they were attacked. The Police responded saying that one of the girls head hanged in front of the newly constructed Christian church while others placed outside the police station. The Islamic extremist claims that they are killing Christians in order to instill fears in the hearts of Christians to stop them from spreading Christian messages. Shockingly, the government of Indonesia is turning blind eye to

Db3 2 training and development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Db3 2 training and development - Research Paper Example In their article, â€Å"New Developments Concerning Negligent Training†, they describe age and pay among various types of discrimination that are important to employers. Issues of hiring and firing concepts, which have been controversial in terms of employment, have also been discussed. Three cases regarding sexual harassment as a form of discrimination have been taken up. They conclude by saying that employers must keep track of labor laws and how they can adapt themselves to the changes. Employers should focus on reducing the risks of negligent training. The best method of limiting exposure is by educating managers. They should be made aware about the implications of their actions (legal or otherwise), and should hence set high standards of professionalism for themselves while dealing with employees. Disciplinary action against or discharge of employees should be done keeping the privacy and dignity of employees in mind. The document flow and the number of current employees with whom a discharged employee has contact should be minimized. Procedures should be in place for a suitable time and place for a discharge to take place. The procedure for recruitments should be centralized. If the number of interviewers is minimized, the scope for exaggeration on the part of prospective employees can be lessened. Hence, the terms and conditions regarding the work in the organization should be spelt out by one single

Persuasive Speech Essay Example for Free

Persuasive Speech Essay I. Introduction â€Å"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.† This quote by Friedrich Nietzsche speaks volumes toward the importance of individuality and self-expression. It shows how conformity can lead to complacency and â€Å"corrupt† our most valuable resource, our youth. School uniforms do just that. The requirement of school uniforms can cause more problems than they solve ranging from elevated stress levels to legal issues. People will always have their opinions on the benefits of school uniforms though it’s important to consider both sides of the argument as well as considering other options such as the option of a dress code. Growing up in Salina, Kansas left me with only a few educational options; of three schools, two are public. Which public school you attend is determined by where your residence is in correlation with pre determined district zones. Having never been subject to uniforms I can’t personally speak for their pros or cons, I can however give insight into the liberty and self-expression I experienced by attending a public school that implemented the use of a dress code instead of a strict uniform policy. II. More harm than good A. As more and more people are beginning to associate with the opinion of school uniforms being a beneficial policy, they neglect to take into account how it individually affects each of the students. B. School uniforms are usually expensive and are often times, expected to be purchased by the student’s family. This can raise stress in the home environment due to economic strain on the household creating a less than satisfactory place to study. C. According to Scholastic Scope, another point to consider is that of vanity. Uniforms can be uncomfortable and less flattering to certain body types than others causing the student to become more stressed and anxious than before. D. In addition many researchers believe that uniforms inhibit self-expression and can cause more problems through students â€Å"acting out† (Lauren, Tarshis, 2011). III. Effect on Behavioral Problems A. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes a student behave inappropriately. What’s even more difficult is finding a solution for what’s causing them to do so. For years, people had thought school uniforms could be the solution to behavioral problems with in our academic system stating that they would make it an equal environment where a student didn’t have to worry about what they wore, and how they would stand out in a positive or negative way. B. Initially, in a study conducted from school years 1995-1997 at the elementary school level researchers found that after implementing school uniforms, behavioral problems within the schools studied actually declined. C. Though this argument seems logical, further research proved this theory to be incorrect. In a 1998 study, researchers D. Brunsma and K. Rockquemore found that when other factors were taken into account school uniforms had little to no effect on behavior within the school. They also found that uniforms had no effect on such things as substance abuse, school attendance, and crime within the academic institutions researched (Tanner, 2010). D. School uniforms do provide an equal setting to learn, that much is true, but the problem lies within. If a student feels suffocated by conformity, the student may act out in an attempt to individualize him or herself and stand out in the crowd. E. Without a proper foundation built on research, it’s impossible to say uniforms are beneficial. IV. Legality A. In addition to a lack of a strong foundation built on research, the requirement of school uniforms brings up a legal debate, one of constitutional rights. B. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines, (1969) it was ruled unconstitutional to force the requirement of school uniforms on the public school system. This was ruled unconstitutional due to infringing on the first amendment right of freedom of speech. It’s stated that you have the right to express your thoughts and opinions on a controversial topic through the attire you choose to wear. (Tinker, 1969). C. A school uniform policy may also force someone to wear something that goes against their religious beliefs, adding fuel to the controversy. D. It’s important to keep in mind how wide of a variety of students attend public schools. If they are truly available to anyone, then you must make the policies flexible for everyone. V. Other options A. To allow for individuality as well as maintaining an equal learning experience for every student, there’s another option to take into consideration. B. One option is tightening dress codes within the school. Instead of a strict uniform based policy, this would allow students to express themselves and remain individuals while still being able to relate with one another, not alienating any student from the other. C. Some of the inner cities that have adopted the uniform policy are finding many students have difficulty paying for the expensive attire. This would also allow for students to have the option to purchase cheaper clothing, still within the dress code. VI. Other argument A. Though there isn’t a strong foundation for research of the subject, many remain convinced that uniforms are the best way to help our public school system. They believe how a student perceives their academic institution plays a major role in how the student performs. B. A students perception of their academic institution and the environment within them is referred to as school climate and is determined with the use of surveys categorized into subscales. C. The National Association of Secondary School principals conducted a study that with the use of surveys such as this, attempted to determine if school climate was better within schools that required the use of uniforms. D. The study proved uniforms to be beneficial with students reporting climate as more positive in 9 out of 10 subscales (Murray,1997). E. With that being said, a students perception of their schools environment is only a fraction of what makes an equal and efficient learning environment for the entire studen t body. VII. Conclusion As John F. Kennedy once said, â€Å"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.† Whether or not the requirement of school uniforms is a beneficial addition to the public school system will continue to remain a controversial issue though the true controversy lies within the uniform policy itself. Self-expression is an important aspect in shaping a person into who they are. So in order for our public school system and the pupils within it to grow and develop through success, it’s our responsibility to keep uniforms out of our public school system.

Essay --

â€Å"Ilmu pengetahuan tanpa nilai-nilai yang mulia belum tentu dapat melahirkan masyarakat yang baik dan berjaya. Nilai-nilai yang mulia tanpa ilmu pengetahuan juga tidak akan melahirkan masyarakat yang berjaya†. Begitulah ungkapan kata-kata bestari oleh mantan Perdana Menteri kita, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Bapa Pemodenan Negara yang merupakan salah satu daripada pencetus kegemilangan dunia pendidikan negara. Selamat pagi dan Salam 1 Malaysia saya ucapkan kepada: Pengerusi Majlis, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Johan Ashaari bin Murti, Menteri Pendidikan merangkap Timbalan Perdana Menteri. Yang Berhormat Datuk Romario Ansam anak Rungah, Timbalan Menteri Pendidikan. Yang Amat Berhormat Pehin Sri Maher Zain, Ketua Menteri. Yang Berhormat Freddy Jabu anak Jugah, Timbalan Ketua Menteri. Yang Berhormat Datuk Halimah, Menteri Tugas-tugas Khas Dalam Negeri berkaitan Pendidikan. Yang Berhormat Datuk-datuk dan Datin-datin. Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ariffin Faiq, Ketua Pengarah Pendidikan. Yang Berbahagia Datuk Sabri bin Rahmat, Rektor IPGM. Yang Dihormati Encik Hafiz Azman, Pengarah Pendidikan Negeri. Yang Berusaha Puan Saftuyah binti Safri, Pengarah Institut Pendidikan Guru Tunku Abdul Rahman. Pengarah-pengarah IPGK dan Wakil-wakil Pengarah IPGK. Yang Berusaha Encik Amir bin Jamal, Timbalan Pengarah Institut Pendidikan Guru Tunku Abdul Rahman. Ketua-ketua Jabatan Persekutuan dan Negeri. Ketua-ketua Jabatan dan Ketua-ketua Unit Institut Pendidikan Guru Tunku Abdul Rahman. Pensyarah-pensyarah Kanan. Para Pensyarah. Staf-staf Sokongan. Para Graduan. Para Ibu Bapa. Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan dekat di hati. Tegak rumah kerana tiangnya, tegak bumi kerana paksinya, tegaknya saya di sini adalah untuk menyampaikan sebuah pidato yang bertajuk â€Å"Kecemerla... ...unyai muhasabah diri, mereka mampu mencipta nama dan berjaya di peringkat global. Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan yang dihormati sekalian, Sedarkah anda bahawa percubaan dan uji kaji ribuan kali telah dilakukan oleh Thomas Adison untuk mencipta lampu yang dapat kita nikmati faedahnya sehingga ke hari ini? Tahukah anda bahawa Colonel Sandera telah bersusah payah siang dan malam untuk mencipta resepi rahsia KFC nya sehingga semua kita yang pada hari ini menjamahnya sehingga menjilat jari? Sikap sebeginilah yang wajar diambilkan sebagai contoh dan panduan sekiranya kita ingin betul-betul cemerlang dalam akademik bahkan kehidupan kita seharian. Antara rahsia kejayaan orang-orang yang hebat ini ialah kepatuhan kepada disiplin. Lihatlah wahai dunia bahawa orang-orang yang berdisiplin ini yang akan menggoncang dunia! Bak kata pepatah, â€Å"siapa yang menuai, dia akan dapat hasilnya†.

Political Rhetoric During the American Revolution

Political rhetoric has been used since the ancient times. It has been used by public speakers from everywhere and to spring their audience to action. A great public speaker or writer is determined by his or her choice of words. In American history there have been documents that have had a tremendous impact on public opinion. Political rhetoric is extremely important because it can bring a society together for one common cause. When someone uses rhetoric effectively the reader starts to have a stirring in their heart because they feel inspired by what is being said. This usually leads them to take action and support the cause their referring to which in this case was the American Revolution. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the VA Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence were documents that greatly shifted public opinion and led the colonists to support the revolution with their use of rhetoric. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was a political pamphlet written at the heels of the America Revolution that became extremely popular among the colonies. Thomas Paine was a Pennsylvania journalist during the time of the American Revolution. He began working on it in late 1775 and it was published in 1776. The rhetoric of this pamphlet along with its popularity greatly turned the tide in favor of rebelling against Great Britain. Paine wrote this pamphlet in a style that a common person could understand. The title itself contains rhetoric. By making the title Common Sense it implies that the contents of the pamphlet contain many common sense ideas that everyone reading it should understand. The wording of his pamphlet was very simple and contained many biblical references so it was also relatable to the colonists. It was extremely important that all colonists could understand the pamphlet because it would create a sense of unity and understanding among the rich and poor colonists. Paine’s main arguments were that it is foolish for such an island to rule a continent, Britain had selfish intentions in ruling the colonies, and being a part of Britain would involve America in unnecessary European wars that would limit their economic possibilities. Paine in the first section creates a distinction between society and government. He says society is a patron that promotes happiness and government is a punisher that restrains society. To best describe his vision on the relationship that society and government should have he gives an example of a few people who live in nature without government.. He gives the example of the few people creating a society because the colonists can relate that to themselves. At one point in time Great Britain left the colonies alone for the most part and they lived in peace. Once the government got involved and began to take for themselves is when the colonists started having all these problems. Paine also argues that all men are created equal and that the distinction of the king from his subjects oppresses this idea. â€Å"MANKIND being originally equals in the order of creation, the equality could only be destroyed by some subsequent circumstance; the distinctions of rich, and poor, may in a great measure be accounted for, and that without having recourse to the harsh, ill-sounding names of oppression and avarice. Oppression is often the consequence, but seldom or never the means of riches; and though avarice will preserve a man from being necessitously poor, it generally makes him too timorous to be wealthy. But there is another and greater distinction for which no truly natural or religious reason can be assigned, and that is, the distinction of men into KINGS and SUBJECTS. † Paine in his third section discusses the problems between the colonies and England and says the best route is to declare their independence from England. In his final section he offers great optimism about the militia during the revolution and how it can win this war. Thomas Paine’s use of rhetoric in Common Sense is the reason why it was so persuasive and popular and could have possibly been the reason that the colonists finally came and decided to revolt against Great Britain. The Virginia Declaration of Rights was written in 1776 to proclaim the natural rights of man including the right to rebel against an inadequate government. George Mason was the author of this document, which was adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates in 1776. It was the first document that protected individual rights rather than protecting just members of Parliament. The declaration states that all men have their natural rights, which are life, liberty, and property. The rhetoric in this document influenced future significant documents in American history. Thomas Jefferson drew great inspiration from this document when he wrote the Declaration of Independence a month later. He borrowed the idea of natural rights of man and implemented them into his document. James Madison was also influenced by the rhetoric and ideas of the Virginia Declaration when drawing the Bill of Rights. Aside from being incredibly influential for latter documents; the Virginia Declaration of Rights asserted the right of the Virginia people to rebel against Great Britain The Declaration of Independence was one of the greatest documents ever written in American history. This document officially stated that the 13 colonies had broken away from the control of Great Britain who they were at war with at the time. It stated the reasons for why the colonies declared independence and listed the grievances against the king of England. The rhetoric in this document is what makes it such a powerful piece of literature. This declaration contains many powerful quotes that can emotionally affect a reader. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This quote has been called one of the most potent and consequential in American history and for good reason. The rhetoric in this quote is very powerful because it uses a religious reference and relates it to the colonists. By saying that the Creator as in God has given colonists certain rights, it leads them to believe that nobody can take them away and this gives them a sense of worth and purpose that no government could take away. Jefferson listed the many grievances that the colonies had against Great Britain to give reason for their breaking apart. These were complaints that the colonists all had against the government and so it created a sense of unity among them all. The Declaration of Independence had to have strong rhetoric in order for it to be a successful document. It had to take a stand against the tyranny America was facing and had to show that they were serious about their independence. Not only did they have to show it to Great Britain but as well as the common people of the colonies because they were the ones fighting in the war and they needed the reassurance that this war was worth fighting for. The creators, by signing the declaration on the last page gave the colonists this reassurance because it showed them that they were not just aristocrats writing a document in Pennsylvania while the common people fought on the battlefield but they were also putting their lives on the line. The signers knew that if they were to lose the war they would be killed and so the colonists recognized this and were inspired by their willingness to die for this cause. This gave the colonist the reassurance they needed to finish out the war, eventually defeat England and gain their independence. In conclusion political rhetoric has had a dramatic influence on public opinion during the American Revolution. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense greatly shifted the public opinion towards revolution while the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence gave the colonists a sense of purpose and inspired them to rise up against Great Britain. It is hard to imagine what life in America would be like in present day had these documents not been written with such emotion and resolve. It is a good thing we do not have to find out. Bibliography: â€Å"Virginia Declaration of Rights. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Aug 2009, 01:20 UTC. 29 Aug 2009 . â€Å"United States Declaration of Independence. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Sep 2009, 03:39 UTC. 21 Sep 2009 . â€Å"Common Sense (pamphlet). † Wikipedia. Web. 19 Sept. 2009. . Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1176. Print. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † Ushistory. org. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.

Cement Lifecycle Review

Life Cycle Review of Cement and Concrete Manufacturing Table of Contents Introduction3 Concrete Overview3 Life Cycle Stages4 Portland Cement4 Raw Material Extraction5 Crushing Process5 Kiln Processing6 Clinker Cooling and Storage7 Clinker Grinding7 Packaging and Shipping7 Concrete Processing8 Recycling and Landfill8 Environmental Considerations Throughout Life Stages9 Inputs: Consumption9 Outputs: Waste10 Air Quality and Pollution11 Land Quality and Biodiversity12 Alternative Suggestions in Minimizing Environmental Impact13Solutions for Minimising Ecological Footprint13 Solutions for Improving Air Quality13 Solutions for Minimising Land Degradation14 References15 Introduction A life-cycle assessment (LCA), as described by the US Environmental Protection Agency, is â€Å"a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a products life from cradle-to-grave†(USPA 2010). Therefore, an assessment of a product’s life cycle endeavors to analyze its existence from raw material extraction, to manufacturing, through to disposal.This report will not provide adequate data for the purpose of undertaking an LCA, however, it is aimed at â€Å"thinking† about the life cycle, and collecting information from past LCA studies to undertake a report on concrete production, particularly focusing on the life-cycle of cement, a critical component of concrete. Therefore, the following â€Å"life cycle thinking† review will endeavor to utilize previous LCA studies in order gain an insight about the major environmental impacts throughout each lifestage, chiefly centering on cement manufacturing.Correspondingly, it will also discuss alternative strategies of delivering cement and concrete as a building material with fewer environmental impacts. Concrete Overview Concrete is a multifaceted construction material, which is assembled mainly from cement, water and aggregate (Reding et al 1977). Concrete is one of the most durable buildin g materials, which allows it to exhibit many functions, including; precast elements, underwater construction, infrastructure formation and residential housing.In view of the fact that the life cycle stages and environmental impacts differ between manufacturing for each function concrete withholds, this report will focus on concretes function as a building material for residential housing and apartments (Anonymous 2012). Concrete is labeled one of the most durable building materials; therefore concrete structures withhold an elongated service life (Reding et al 1977. As a result of this, concrete is the most extensively used construction material in the world and has contributed momentously to the built environment throughout history. Life Cycle StagesIn a straightforward description, as mentioned above, concrete consists of three basic components, including cement, aggregates and water. Although there are various cement blends used for different purposes, this lifecycle review will focus particularly on Portland cement manufacturing, which is frequently utilized for industrial purposes (Anonymous 2012). In observing a life cycle of concrete manufacturing, the production of cement generally takes place separately, which is then transported to the selected building location, where water and aggregates are added to bind all components into one homogenous material – concrete (Anonymous 2012).Although there are obviously procedures in obtaining the water and aggregate for concrete production, the life-cycle discussed in this report will focus primarily on Portland Cement production (Reding et al 1977). Portland Cement The major raw materials extracted for cement production include limestone, sand, shale and clay. These feedstock ingredients provide calcium carbonate, alumina, silica and ferric oxide, which are critical elements of cement (Anonymous 2012). Figure 1: Proportion of cement components (CCAA 2010) Raw Material ExtractionThe initial stage of Portla nd cement production is the extraction of the raw materials by either quarrying or mining (Anonymous 2012). This withholds an adverse risk to land quality, potentially effecting fauna and flora within close proximity. Quarrying and mining are undertaken by operations such as drilling, blasting, excavating, handling, loading, hauling, and crushing (Reding et al 1977). The fragmented material, which can reach meters in length, is then transported via dump trucks to the cement plant, which is generally located nearby (Anonymous 2012). Crushing ProcessWhen transferred to the plant, the rock material is fed through a primary crusher, which breaks it down into smaller pieces up to six inches in size (Anonymous 2012). Subsequently, the rock is then transported via a conveyor to the secondary crushing stage, which accordingly, crushes the rock down to sizes of three inches or less. Following these essential crushing processes, all raw material undergoes a mixing and grinding process, where additional silica and iron may be added (Anonymous 2012). Within this stage, particulate emissions are profoundly emitted into the atmosphere.The mixing process can either be wet or dry, depending on the plant, however, the Cement Industry Federation states in their most recent Environmental Report that wet process plants in Australia now only account for less then 15% of total production, as wet processes have momentous water consumption (CIF 2010). In the instance of a wet mixing and grinding process, large impact dryers completely dry out the materials whilst grinding is undertaken, however if a wet process is embarked on, water is added during the grinding process which turns the mix into the form of a â€Å"slurry† (Anonymous 2012).Kiln Processing This process involves the slurry or the finely ground dry material to be fed into a high-temperature, cylindrical rotary kiln, heated to about 2700 degrees F (Anonymous 2012). Kilns are mounted with the axis slightly inclined f rom the horizontal and can reach up to 180m long, with a six meter diameter, thus it can take up to two hours for the material to travel through. The upper end of the kiln provides the entrance for the material, whereas the lower end comprises a roaring blast of flame, fueled by either coal or natural gas.During this process, any water contained in a â€Å"slurry† mix is lost through evaporation (Reding et al 1977). Ultimately, as the mixture travels through the kiln, it transforms both physically and chemically into grey pebble-like substances called clinker (Anonymous 2012). During kiln processing, particulate and GHG emissions are released. This stage also consumes the most energy, as fossil fuels are incinerated to provide extreme heat. Clinker Cooling and StorageThe clinker is expelled from the lower end of the kiln and is then transported onto a conveyer through a cooling system where large fans and water are utilized to cool the temperature (Anonymous 2012). The United Kingdom Environmental Agency state in their Environmental Performance Evaluation, that the vast majority of cement plants around the world now transfer the heated air from the coolers back towards the kiln as a means of saving fuel (UKEA 2010).Once the clinker is cooled, it is deposited into a storage area where it awaits until it is required for it’s final stage of grinding. Clinker Grinding The clinker is finally transported via a conveyor to its final crushing stage and is ground into a fine powder. This is carried out by steering the product through rotating tube mills with rolling crushers, which grind the cement into a fine powder. During this stage, other materials conveying analogous characteristics are added.Gypsum is also combined with the mix, as it assists in regulating the setting time of the final concrete product (Anonymous 2012). The continuous rolling assists in distributing the materials and gypsum throughout the cement evenly, and also separates the cement particles according to size (Reding et al 1977) . The material that has not been ground to the adequate size is deflected through the system again, however the final product is guided to the final storage silo (Anonymous 2012). Packaging and ShippingThe final product is either mechanically or hydraulically hauled out from its storage silo and is either packaged in paper sacks or supplied in bulk where it is then transported via truck, rail car or ship to the location of utilization (Anonymous 2012). Transportation must still be taken into consideration in contributing to the manufacturing air emissions. Concrete Processing Once transported to the building location, the addition of water to the cementitious material forms a thick cement paste, through the method of hydration (Anonymous 2012).Both fine and course aggregates; consisting of natural gravel, sand and soft stone are also commonly added to the cement paste, to create bulk and a strong, high resistant concrete (CCAA 2010). Aggregates are granular materials such as sand, gravel or crushed stone, which are usually dredged from a river, lake, pit or seabed (CCAA 2010). Prior to combining the aggregate in the cement, it undergoes a washing process to remove any unwanted silt, dust, clay or organic matter that could potentially interfere with the bonding reaction with the cement (Cement Industry Australia 2003).Similarly to the cement manufacture process, the aggregate is also sorted into different granular sizes (Anonymous 2012). This is undertaken by passing the material through a screen containing different size openings. Once arranged into adequate sizing, the aggregate is transported to the building site where it congregates with the cement (CCAA 2010). Thorough combining of cement, water and aggregate is crucial for the invention of high quality, uniform concrete, therefore equipment and methods such as cement trucks and on site mixers are utilized (CCAA 2010).Once all the constituents are thoroughly combined, it is molded or positioned as anticipated and then left to harden. Recycling and Landfill When a concrete building structure reaches the end of it’s life, either recycling or landfill is an option (CCAA 2010). The process of demolition of a concrete structure involves pulling it down either mechanically or manually through the utilization of excavators or bulldozers (Chen et al 2010). Larger buildings however, may require more powerful equipment.Following, the shattered concrete fragments are either transported by trucks to landfills for disposal or collected from the annihilation site and transported to a crushing facility, where it is fed through a crushing machine to be broken down and used for aggregate of new concrete (Cement Australia 2003). In conjunction with quarries, landfills also hold significant environmental consequences, as it can destroy or alter species habitat. Environmental Considerations Throughout Life Stages Inputs: ConsumptionThe Cement Indus try Federation (CIF) states in their 2003 environmental report, that the cement manufacturing process is extremely energy and resource intensive, therefore, it withholds a significant environmental footprint (CIF 2003). As displayed in the life-cycle diagram (figure 2), raw materials, energy and in some instances water, are the chief inputs associated with the manufacturing process, therefore, their consumption levels are predominantly to blame for the industries heightened environmental footprint (Anonymous 2012).Cement Australia (2010) states that on average, water utilization of a modern dry cement plant is between one hundred to two hundred litres per tonne of clinker produced (Cement Australia 2010). This water consumption is primarily used for cooling heavy equipment and exhaust gas. Although this appears quite high, Chen et al (2010) mentions that it is a dramatic improvement from earlier, yet still subsisting wet process cement plants (Chen et al 2010). The addition of water in cement to create the final product of concrete also consumes a large quantity of water.Similarly, the cement industry is highly energy intensive, especially during the kiln life stage (CIF 2003). Generally, cement plants today use natural gas, heavy oil and coal for fuel (Chen et al 2010). However, as coal accounts for almost 40 per cent of manufacturing costs, the utilization of fossil fuels in cement production has decreased since 1990 and has been partly substituted by alternative fuels (CIF 2003). The impact the high consumption of fossil fuels possesses on the environment is accelerated greenhouse releasement into the atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming (Chen et al 2010).Therefore, environmental consideration of adequate selection of alternative fuels is crucial in minimizing the environmental footprint. Outputs: Waste Furthermore, the outputs within each life stage also exhibit environmental issues throughout the entire cycle, from resource extraction through t o landfill (Chen et al 2010). The outputs fluctuate and vary between atmospheric emissions, waterbourne wastes, solid wastes and other co-product releases (CIF 2003).These outputs, in conjunction with the reasonably high input consumption, are the causes of the evident impacts the industry posses on the environment. Lemay & Leed (2011), mention in a broad perspective that air emissions leading to climate change, resource depletion, water consumption, ecotoxicity, eutrophocation, human health criteria, habitat alteration, smog formation and acidification are the main documented impacts that occur throughout the cement manufacturing process, whether it be instant or over time (Lemay & Leed 2011).Although there is clearly a vast array of impacts associated with cement manufacturing and concrete assembly, the impact on air quality and land quality appear to be considered by numerous LCAs to be a vital issue associated with manufacture, therefore they will be analyzed in more thorough de tail. Air Quality and Pollution Air pollution is highly likely to occur throughout each life stage of cement production, whether it is a result of fuel combustion or particulates from raw and finished materials (CIF 2003).Eco Tech (2011) mentions in its Cement Industry Report, that the uttermost crucial impacts associated with air pollution include; hydrocarbons and particulates which posses a threat to human health and environmental quality, and greenhouse gas emissions accelerating climate change (EcoTech 2011). In relation to Greenhouse gas emissions, Chen et al (2010) scrutinized in his Cement Plant Evaluation, that different Portland cement plants around the world is under close inspection these days because of the large volumes of CO2 emitted (Chen et al 2010).The report also continues to address that almost one tonne of CO2 is released for every one tonne of cement produced in the industry, which appears to be momentous considering in the year 2010, the world produced approxi mately 3. 6 billion tonnes of cement (Rosenwald 2011). Contrary to greenhouse gas emissions, dust emissions are at their highest peak at the initial quarrying stage and the final building demolition stage, as a result of forceful blasting and obliterating (Chen et al 2010).Other sources of dust emissions, however, are raw mills, kilns/ clinker coolers and cement mills. The Cement Industry Federation (2003) states that transportation of raw materials from the quarry to the site and stockpiles of raw materials contribute significantly to dust emissions (CIF 2003). Overall, the dust emissions released throughout the different life stages impact momentously on air quality, thus it threatens human health and overall environmental quality. Dust is the most common and extensive air pollutant from a quarry (CIF 2010).It has different origins in a quarry site such as mechanical handling operations that include crushing and grading process; haulage with which is related to the vehicle, and th e nature and condition of the way; blasting; additional manufacturing operations and wind blow from paved areas, stockpiles (Chen et al 2010) . Land Quality and Biodiversity The central issue of cement production upon land quality comes from quarrying, atmospheric deposition, disposal of wastes and storage of raw material (CIF 2003).These issues, predominantly atmospheric deposition, arise from merely every life stage of cement manufacturing; therefore it is an issue that must be taken into great consideration (Chen et al 2010). Quarrying and landfill have both direct and indirect environmental impacts on land and its surrounding biodiversity (Chen et al 2010). The direct impacts include habitat destruction thus biodiversity loss, dust inhalation and noise from rock drilling and blasting (CIF 2010). Subsequently, the effects of cement works on habitats are difficult to quantify, however the potential harm is much greater in vulnerable areas.The US Environmental Protection Agency (20 02), states in their report that two large operating cement plants in England are located on the edge of National Parks, therefore site selection must be considered in depth prior to implementation (USEA 2002). On the other hand, indirect impacts can potentially cause different catastrophes such as landslides and flashfloods in and around quarry sites (Chen et al 2010) . Furthermore, dust particulate has physical effects on plants, such as damage and blockage to the leaf surface, which may lead to death if photosynthesis is unable to occur (Chen et al 2010).Chemical effects on the other hand, can potentially produce changes in soil chemistry, which ultimately leads to changes in the long term associated with plant chemistry alterations, species competition and community structure (CIF 2010). Dust particulates from quarrying and wastes also affect waterways, as supplementary sedimentation may cause nearby reservoirs to dry out or flood (Chen et al 2010) . Alternative Suggestions in M inimizing Environmental Impact Solutions for Minimising Ecological FootprintDue to the significant amount of energy consumed in cement manufacturing, the cement industry has considerably focused over a long period on escalating plant efficiency and decreasing energy consumption. Cement Australia (2010) affirms that the Australia Cement Industry has seen a 23% decrease in CO2 emissions in the period between 1990-2009 (Cement Australia 2010). Although this is a significant decrease, further methods could potentially be utilized to further cutback consumption. Firstly, energy could be more efficiently recycled and transferred within the plant system.For example, excess heat from the clinker cooler being transferred back to the kiln stage to prevent energy waste should be implemented in all modern cement plants (Lemay & Leed 2011). Secondly, alternative fuels should be enhanced, especially in clinker manufacture. Alternative fuels may include items such as tyres, oils and tarrow. Soluti ons for Improving Air Quality As mentioned earlier, air emissions for GHG release has improved over the last decade as a result of utilization of alternative fuels.This however, has the potential to be further improved, therefore complete replacement of fossil fuels to alternative fuels could potentially take place to completely eradicate GHG releasement (Lemay & Leed 2011). In addition, the Cement Industry Federation (2010) asserts that improvement techniques for dust collection such as baghouse dust collectors has also been implemented over the past century (CIF 2010). Although there have been improvements, likewise, the potential for further development still remains. Perhaps aspects of the layout design could be improved, as a means of stockpile design and transportation throughout the system.Containment of conveyors could be implemented and perhaps pipelines, which substitute transport to and from the quarry to the plant, could be considered to prevent particulate emissions bei ng released (Lemay & Leed 2011). In addition, the moistening of the raw material throughout the crushing stages via sprays could also potentially to instigated to minimize dust release (CIF 2010). Filters and collectors could also be applied within each stage so the dust gathered can be sent through to the kiln for clinker production Solutions for Minimising Land DegradationUnfortunately quarrying and landfill in any form will impact on land quality, however methods such as buffer zones between workings and alternative habitats for defined species could be considered in an attempt to conserve biodiversity within or around the sites (Lemay & Leed 2011). Rehabilitation programs to restore once existing biodiversity on site could also be considered when the quarry material is completely exploited. Additionally, as displayed in the life cycle review, recycling of the final concrete material is an option as opposed to landfill.Perhaps the promotion of further cement and concrete recyclin g could be considered to avoid the amount of quarrying required. This would also minimize the amount of product discarded into landfill, thus retaining natural habitat. References Abdul-Wahab S. 2006. â€Å"Impact of fugitive dust emissions from cement plants on nearby communities†. Ecological Modelling. Vol: 195. Issue: 3-4. Page 338-348. Anonymous. 2012. â€Å"How Portland Cement is Made†. Portland Cement Association. Available: www. cement. org/basics/howmade. asp. (Last Accessed 7/10/12) Cement Australia. 2010. Environmental Performance†. Cement Australia. Available: www. cementaustralia. com. au/wps/wcm/connect/website/cement/home/sustainable-development/environmental-performance (Last Accessed 10/10/12) Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia (CCAA). 2010. â€Å"Sustainable Concrete Materials†. CCAA. Available: www. concrete. net. au/sustainability/documents/documents2. pdf. (Last Accessed 7/10/12) Chen C, Habert G, Bouzidi Y, Jullie A. 2010.  "Environmental impact of cement production: detail of the different processes nd cement plant variability evaluation†. Journal of Cleaner Production.Vol: 18. Issue: 5. Page 478-485 Lemay L, Leed A. 2011. â€Å" Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Buildings†. Concrete Sustainability Report. Available: www. nrmca. org/sustainability/CSRO4%20-%Life%20Cycle%20Assessment%20Concrete. pdf (Last Accessed 10/10/12 Nisbet M. 1996. â€Å"The Reduction of Resource Input and Emissions Achieved by Addition of Limestone to Portland Cement† Research and Development Information. Portland Cement Association. Canada Obajana Cement Project. 2005. â€Å"Social and Environmental Impact Assessment† Obajana Cement Project. Available: www. jaspers. uropa. eu/attachments/pipeline/1191_social_eia_en. pdf (Last Accessed 10/10/12) Park L, Tae S, Kim T. 2012. â€Å"Life Cycle CO2 Assessment of Concrete by Compressive Strength on Construction Site in Korea† Renewable and Sustainabl e Energy Reviews. Vol: 16. Issue: 5. Pages 2940 – 2946. Reding J, Muehlberg P, Shepherd B. 1977. â€Å"Industrial Process Profiles for Environmental Use† The Cement Industry. Chapter 21. Available: http://www. inece. org/mmcourse/chapt6. pdf. (Last Accessed 7/10/12) Rosenwald M. 2011. â€Å"Building a Better World with Green Cement†. Science and Nature.Available: http://www. smithsonianmag. com/science-nature/Building-a-Better-World-With-Green-Cement. html (Last Accessed 10/10/12) The Energy Conservation Center (ECC). 1994. â€Å"Output of a Seminar on Energy Conservation in Cement Industry†. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). Available: www. unido. org/fileadmin/import/userfiles/puffk/cement. pdf. (Last Accessed 10/10/12) US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 2010. â€Å"Defining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). US Environmental Protection Agency. Available: www. gdrc. org/uem/lca/ (Last Accessed 11/10/12)

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