A Brief Analysis on The Woman Warrior

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts (1976), was written by a Chinese-American author named, Maxine Hong Kingston. It is said to relate the â€Å"real† stories of Kingston's life. (Wiley Publishing.).It tells about the clash of culture between Chinese and American, which is why this book became very interesting. As a Chinese who was born and grew up in America, she was exposed to â€Å"American culture.†Americans are more liberal; men and women have equal rights to everything, and they live a very advanced, fast paced life. But it wasn't easy at all for Kingston, because she was bounded by the rules of Chinese culture enforced by her mother, who in the story, is named, Brave Orchid.Brave Orchid refused to adapt American culture, and she sees good traditional values of Chinese as ideal, so she made her children learn English instead. In order for the children to become flexible to speak the English language, she had their tongues â€Å"cut.† (Pass age 3.).So Kingston grew up with a very strong-willed mother, and this made her hate the â€Å"weak side† of females; she even confronted a Chinese girl for not speaking when told to speak. (Passage 5). She thinks that being â€Å"silent and weak† to show femininity of Chinese women is totally pathetic. (Passage 4).Being Americanized, she wanted to be strong, to be equal with men, and to be free from the rigid culture of her origin. She doesn't want to end up like her nameless aunt who killed herself and her baby because she committed adultery. She must have been a rape victim and there are other ways to solve her problem. Worst part is, the weakness of Chinese women is shown because her aunt was treated as if she never existed. (Passage 1.)Her nameless aunt gave her the inspiration to write The Woman Warrior, because it haunted her. (Passage 2). In order for Kingston to appreciate her origin and the American culture she loves, she made a song to unite both culture as a way to remind herself to be grateful of both. (Passage 6). Everyone of us has his or her own origin. We can just learn to accept our heritage because it is a part of us. Our origin is our blood and we are identified distinctly because of it.There are a lot of ways to positively infuse the culture of origin into the new culture we live in because of continuous evolution of humans. There's nothing wrong with adapting a modernized culture as long as the moral values of one's origin is kept as guidance to act ethically.  

Jewish Feminism

Jewish feminism has had a significant impact on the development and expression of Judaism. They have faced many obstacles and brought about much change in the Jewish tradition. Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal and social role and contribution of women within Judaism. Feminism can be traced back to the early 1970s where women began to question their roles amongst society. For Jewish women, they wanted to focus on the composition of the minyan, the exemption from some mitzvot, exclusion of women as witnesses of Jewish law and the position of women in relation to divorce proceedings. Each variant has responded differently to feminism and the level of impact as differed amongst Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews. Judaism is known for being more patriarchal than many other organised religions. This has made it difficult for Jewish feminists to bring about equity and tzedakah. Jewish feminists have one main agenda and that is to challenge and fight sexism within Judaism. They see their work as part of their duty to tikkun olam and believe their actions bring tzedakah to their faith community. Jewish feminism created much controversy as many men thought that it would have a weakening effect on Jewish life, however many would argue that it has been strengthened. The Orthodox Jewish communities found the impact of Jewish feminism to be a significant issue for their interpretation of the halakah and how their religion is to be expressed. They seeked change in a manner that can be defended by Jewish law and always worked within the framework of traditional worship. However, amongst the Reform and Conservative Jews, their attitudes have been much greater. Reform Jews have accepted that a woman can perform any religious ritual that a man does. They were the first group to do away with the mehiztah, that separated men from woman in the synagogue, they felt the customs and practices should be more in keeping with modern society. This had a significant impact as it led to the change in service and synagogue, and the service was rewritten in English from Hebrew. Jewish Feminism called upon all variants of Judaism to reconsider its response to the mitzvot and other elements of the halakah. Jewish feminists challenged Judaism in areas such as the patriarchal interpretation of sacred texts, role of women in rituals, role of women in leadership eg: Rabbi and the general rights of women. In 1972, ten New York Jewish feminists calling themselves Ezrat Nashim presented a document, â€Å"Call For Change†, to the Conservative movements Rabbinical Assembly. This â€Å"Call for Change† demanded that women be considered to perform all mitzvot, allowed full participation in religious observances, be counted in the minyan, have equal rights in marriage and initiate divorce. Judaism was changed by this document in 1977 when Conservative Judaism introduced feminist rituals. Until the 1950s Jewish women traditionally took a back seat in communal worship. The synagogue was divided with a mehitzah as they felt that men could not concentrate and keep their thoughts purely on prayer and their individual connection with God. Jewish feminism's impact on this issue was significant as they changed the physical direction of the mehitzah in the synagogue so women could see the front and yet the men were still separated from them. This change of the direction symbolises the change of views. Jewish feminism had a strong impact on the religious observances, laws and services. The role of women amongst society was changed in 1973 when the first female Rabbi, Sally Priesland, was ordained. There were many objections to the allowance of female Rabbis and numerous questions were raised such as their abilty to raise families and cope with the religious demands and if they were able to interpret the Scriptures correctly. However, non feminists were able to see that these women brought intuitive perspectives that positively questioned the base of the Jewish beliefs. Therefore the extent of change in response to Jewish feminism varies across the differing expressions of Judaism. It has brought new and fresh perspectives to the nature of worship services. Women will continue to demand and receive equality in both the secular and religious worlds. Jewish feminism has brought to each of the variants a closer relationship and a stronger response to the call tikkun olam.

Patron Saint of Butterflies Essay Essay

The main characters of the story are Honey, and Agnes. The whole book was written in a switch off format which is when Honey and Agnes each write a chapter on what happened in there own thoughts. The story shows a relationship between two girls that slowly grow apart holding tight onto what they have left in their friendship. The characters are Honey, her dad which is Mr. Little, Mrs. Little, Nana Pete, Lillian, Benny, and the owners of Mount Blessing, Mother Veronica and Father Emmanuel. In this story, the characters are in a conflict; Mother Veronica and Father Emmanuel were the ones that were against Lillian, Nana Pete, Honey, and Agnes. There were against each other because Father Emmanuel was punishing the people that lived on Mount Blessing. The story started like this, Agnes was looking for Honey she got into trouble. Honey was punished by Emmanuel because she kissed a boy, on her back; Veronica had carved the word â€Å"harlot†. Soon, Nana Pete (Agnes and Benny’s grandmother) found out about the regulation room where people were being punished at. Nana Pete decides to leave after she found out, when Benny had his finger slammed in the door. Someone had called the police, but because Emmanuel knew he was going to get into trouble if the police come, so he decides to it on himself clumsily. Nana Pete takes him to the hospital where they had to undo everything that Emmanuel had done. Right after Benny had woken up, they escape from Mount blessing where Agnes really doesn’t want to because she wants to become a saint, but Honey dreads to escape that place from the day her was born. Honey had to say goodbye to Winky, the person that Honey owns a utterfly garden with. Honey also left a note about if Agnes ever goes back, Honey made Winky call the cops. They travel across from Connecticut all the way to Texas. On the way, Agnes faced a lot of things that were considered a sin, like eating stuff that are red, watching T. V. and listening to the radio which was all considered sins but Honey did all of them even when she knew it was against the rules on Mount Blessing. Agnes struggles to be with Honey because of their differences, especially when they arrive to the destination and meet a girl amed Lillian. Actually, Lillian is Honey’s mother that had left her when she was only a baby, the story of her mother was complicated. She was wonderful at the violin when she had went to Mount Blessing, so she instantly was accepted into Emmanuel’s inner group which usually take years to do. But at that time she was already pregnant but the people in the inner circle knew nothing about it, when they did, Honey was already born into this world, so they made Lillian go away and let Honey stay with Lillian’s brother, Joseph (Mr.Little). Things turn out pretty well until Nana Pete had died from a heart attacked. Honey and Agnes had a major fight after Agnes was praying for Nana Pete to come back alive, Honey said that it was impossible and had some argument that had caused Honey to hit Agnes. Rushing out the door, Honey hopped into the truck and then drove to the shop Lillian owned. She rushed in causing everyone to suddenly look at her, and then she dragged Lillian back, at that same time Agnes had called her parents to fly here and go pick up Agnes. After her parents arrive, Mr. Little called Lillian the name she was given at Mount Blessing. After Agnes left, that was when Honey found out Lillian was her mother, also she finally knew the reason why Nana Pete treated her like her own grandchild. When Agnes arrived at Mount Blessing, she saw there were rows of police cars parked in front of the regulation room, the cops wanted to see all of the children, alone, that is when Emmanuel said â€Å"remember, we are believers† meaning for them to not tell anything about the room. Because the children were so scared they all didn’t respond to the negative things that were mentioned about Mount Blessing. But then, Agnes thought about what was right and what she should do, slowly with trembling legs, she stood up. At the same time, Honey and Lillian was driving to Mount Blessing, when they arrive, the cops arrived because of the fact that Winky had called the police. A few weeks later, all of the parents were to be kept in order to be questioned, that is when Honey and Agnes stand on the same line, and race each other to the finish line. They raced each other at the end because Agnes wanted to be a saint, and she thought racing was a sin, but she finally loosened up from what Honey had helped her with. I thought this book was the adventurous kind in the beginning, but then did I find out it was about friendship and love. This book was very touching from what Honey had described in one of the chapters about how Agnes had changed from the friend that she use to know to what she is now, a saint to be. I thought that it was outrageous when I read to the part about that they were hit by Emmanuel. To what I think, people should not be punished by what they have done just according to the rules that some guy had made, and I thought that if the kids don’t want to live there, why do their parents make them? In a lot of the chapters, it showed that Agnes had a string that was tied around the waist, and every time she had committed a sin, she would tighten the string, just imagining it I would think would be hard enough for me, but to do it, it takes guts. This booked talked a lot about friendship and trust, and I also thought it was so touching when it told the ending about how they raced each other. It would be hard for me to ever still hold on to the friendship that Agnes and Honey had held on to, I would just have stopped being friends with Agnes instead of trying to convince her back to being normal. I really loved this book because it connected with the experiences that I had, my friend, well more like best friend had started to ‘fit in’ with the crowd, and soon, she pretended that she didn’t ever know me. But before I came to America, I had to say goodbye to her, and she said that the only reason she left me was because I started making new friends and didn’t even talk to her. The misunderstanding was all over, but the things that had already happened could not be solved, so I felt that I was in the same relationship with my best friend just like how Agnes and Honey was. This story could be told to all ages and not to a limited age, it talks about friendship, trust, and most important, holding onto your friend.

Victimology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Victimology - Research Paper Example Under this crime, there is murder, rape, robbery and assault. Suicide or murder in general terms, is every human act which results in the immediate death of another man. He is also using the term homicide, which comes from the Latin word homo (man) and cedere (cut). In the strict sense of the murder is considered only the seizure of someones life that is contrary to law, and is often cited as the definition of unlawful taking or unlawful deprivation of life. In almost all countries and in their legal systems and criminal law murder is considered for one of the most serious crimes, and it accordingly regulate. Rape in the broadest sense is the act by which a person is forced to participate in sexual activity against their will or by using violence, threats or use of the fact that this person due to the illness or intoxication that activity is unable or refuse to deal with it. In almost all human societies, and the laws of all states are considered the most serious of all sexual offens es. Theft is committed act of seizure movable property and immovable property with the intent to unlawfully appropriate.Property crime is crime done to someone property; when villain is violating in any way property of victim that is called property crime. Under this crime, there is burglary, larceny, vehicular theft and arson.Burglary is illegal entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offence.Larceny is a crime where someone involves the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person.Vehicular theft is a criminal act where someone steals, or tries to steal someone`s vehicle.In the end, arson is the crime where villain intentionally and maliciously set fire to buildings, cars or other property with the intent to cause damage. All of these crimes must have victims involved. Victim can be offended, damaged or physically threatened. Every community is affected by these crimes, and that is one of the plagues

Prepare a marketing plan for a company of your choice for the next one Essay

Prepare a marketing plan for a company of your choice for the next one and three years - Essay Example GSK has a unique mission statement which explains their aim and (objective of) providing consumers with new products and with more improved projects. The following essay elaborates the marketing plan of the company by describing the current scenario of the industry and also GSK. SWOT analysis identifies the strength and weakness and also the opportunities and threats of GSK that are changing from time to time with the competitive market. The responsibilities that are taken by GSK towards the environment, consumers and the shareholders have been discussed in the study. To evaluate the position of the competitors of GSK, competitive analysis has been done. The Segmentation, targeting and positioning concept explains the target market of GSK and what they do to position their products among its consumers. Lastly a forecasted budget for the year 2013-2015 has been prepared. The income is expected to decrease, even though it can be assumed that the expenses can be controlled. This would p ossibly because of the unstable condition of the global economy. Mission Statement and Market Overview The mission of the company is to improve the quality of human life by giving them more products and make them feel better and live longer. The Research and Development units, the partners of the company and the workers of the company work in harmony to prevent and treat diseases and make the world a better place to live. The business is focussed towards the delivery of three strategic priorities, which aim to increase growth, reduce risk and improve long term financial performances. These priorities are; 1) growth of a diversified global business, 2) delivery of more products which offer more value, 3) simplifying operating model. Grow diversified global business by creating a balanced business and product portfolio capable of delivering sustainable sales growth. The main business areas are pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare which provide the company significant comp etitive advantages and opportunity of synergy. Deliver products of value: The Company has re-engineered the research and development (R&D) division in the organisation to develop a whole bunch of products that offer improvement in treatment of patients and healthcare providers. The company has outsourced the research activities allowing access to new areas of science and share the risk of development of its partners. Simplify the operating model through global restructuring programmes designed to deliver significant savings to support investment in priority growth business and thus improve competitiveness further. Pharmaceutical companies are making great contribution to the economy of UK,  higher than most  other high-tech industries. The National Health Service (NHS) accounts for more than 98% of UK’s prescribed medicines market, which is the sixth largest pharmaceutical market in the world. Most of this market is driven by approximately 35,000 general practitioners (GP s) of UK. The Pharmaceutical industry of UK is an open market, where the leading foreign companies and brands have strong presence. While the growth rate of this market has been decelerating, it remains one of the fastest growing components in

The Place of Religious Education In The Primary School Essay

The Place of Religious Education In The Primary School - Essay Example As the discussion highlights  education is a social system, which prepares and develops new members for the society. It is a process, which teaches them the social setting, morale and their expected behaviour in the society. It gives them an opportunity to choose their area of interest and develops them accordingly.  From the research it is clear that religious education can support the personal, social and emotional development of child.Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs. It involves emotions and feelings. It has its own set of dogmas and practices. Through religion one tries to define the relations between himself and divinity. There has been a continuous debate on the importance of religion in everyone’s life. Many academicians and philosophers have presented different views on religion.  There have been various definitions for religion given by various thinkers’ scholars and academicians. Religion has taken various shapes and forms in past few years w ith the development of civilisation. In various parts of world religion can be seen in different forms. There are certain things that are common in all the religion. These are things like existence of God, love for humanity, respect for each other, help the needy and many others. These things are more like an education for the proper living.  These things teach us to live and adjust in the society to make the place worth living. Any religion never teaches fight, killing, disrespect for humanity and terrorism.

Counterfeit products Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Counterfeit products - Term Paper Example Millions of dollars have been earned in revenue by those involved in this kind of business. However, this happens in disregard of the underlying consequences. There are several risks that are associated by the consumption of these products and there is a lot of proof that the industry is growing big every year (David, 21). The value of counterfeit goods and the whole industry is said to be worth over US $200 billion. This is to take into account the everyday production of goods. The goods produced as counterfeit are often sub-standard which is considered to pose major health hazards. There are goods produced cross every product sector, including; tobacco, electronics, vehicles, alcohol, clothes and food products, the designer clothes, the wrist watches and several accessories. There is also production of counterfeit medicines, numerous chemicals and pesticides, perfumes, modern cosmetics and the body care products. Several CDs and DVDs, computer software products, computer games, vehicle and other spare parts power tools and household appliances. Fake products are at many times often tempting with many of them costing less than the price of the real product (Philips, 43). These goods are also of low and inferior in quality thus is always considered to be unsafe and mainly dangerous for human consumption. Mostly, many industrial products are sold with certain benefits. This always the case especially when you are handling genuine commodities. However, counterfeit products always don’t come with these kinds of benefits. They often don’t come with benefits like after-sales service or the after sale guarantees. These commodity sellers bank on the ignorance of the victims with majority of these consumers being unaware that counterfeit products or goods don’t undergo the same production methods and similar rigorous testing procedures that legitimate manufacturers often apply to their products in order to ensure they are

Intellectual Capital and Competitiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Intellectual Capital and Competitiveness - Essay Example Not so long ago, business resources consisted of 80% tangible assets and resources. However, the picture today is quite different. By 1999, 80% of organizations’ assets were intangible (Andersen and Striukova, 2010). Today’s economy is characterized by intellectual property and assets forming a major part of business assets and resources. Therefore it is paramount to identify how intellectual capital and resources may influence management for the organization’s benefits. According to economic theorists, there are three major components of intellectual capital: human capital, structural capital and customer capital. Human capital represents employee competence, brainpower and knowledge (Berry, 2005). Customer capital on the other hand designates the organization’s relations with its suppliers, customers and distributors. Structural capital represents culture and systems, processes and practices (Bosworth and Webster, 2006). Recognizing the three components of intellectual capital is important for managers who are responsible for ensuring that the organization runs and performs as well as expected. Customer capital is one of the most important aspects of any organization. Customers are invaluable sources if organizational competitiveness in terms of market dominance, financial performance, dynamic capabilities and technological advantage. In today’s business environment, most companies have turned to e-business as a way to boost their businesses (Al-Ali, 2003). This means that a large percentage of an organization’s customers are found online. Managers need to evaluate the way they manage their entire customer capital so as to ensure that they maximize on this important part of the organization (Daum, 2010). This paper evaluates how an organization’s online and offline customer capital may impact on management, and how this influence affects the organization on a whole. Managing Customer Loyalty and Branding It is important for companies to develop strong long term relationships with their target customers so as to build a sustainable business (Choo and Bontis, 2002). ICT has changed the conventional methods used by managers to manage their intangible customer base asset. More and more people are opting to use the internet to do business. In some ways, the online customer base has some needs that are different from those of conventional customers (Bosworth and Webster, 2006). It is for this apparent reason why managers have to come up with ways to work within the new e-market environment so as to satisfy the needs of the customers. The creation of processes or platforms to build and maintain e-business customer loyalty is not a task that a manager can achieve by himself (Jolly and Philpott, 2004). He has to bring on board other customer relations experts to help him draft strategies that will appeal to most of the customers. The first thing that should be considered when creating customer loy alty management strategies is the organizations end goal (Daum, 2010). Although the aim of customer loyalty management is pegged on the idea that the customer has to be satisfied at all times, the way this is done should be determined mainly by the organizational objectives, that it, what the business aims to achieve in the short and long term. The operational front of an e-business should also be considered when managing e-business customers (Bryer, Lebson and Asbell, 2011). This means that the

Reliance Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reliance Industries - Essay Example Poza notes that as per the regulations outlined in Hindu succession laws, the eldest son of the household is entitled to become the successor after the death of the family’s head (341). Consequently, this notion is also reflected in Hindu traditions and customs which favor the first-born of the family. Mukesh’s arrival in the business, in many ways, echoed this custom as he embarked upon his responsibilities in a fashion that was similar to that of his father (Grant and Nicholson 44). Assessing the relationship that the sons shared with their parents it is understood that Dhirubhai was particularly fond of Mukesh and therefore, chose to discuss the affairs of the business with him before seeking Anil’s point of view (Poza 348) which could have irked Mukesh’s sibling. Another important role that the parents played for the sake of Reliance Industries’ and for their family was that of mediators. Whenever conflicts between the brothers arose, it was Dhi rubhai who took to a stand to resolve the issues by warning his sons and taking an action in order to ensure that family disputes did not act as hurdles in the achievement of business objectives (Poza 349). By March 2005, tensions between the brothers over the control and management of Reliance Industries had escalated which caused media scrutiny on the matter to rise. Thus, it was Kokilaben who realized that the gravity of the situation begged for her intervention. Grant and Nicholson state that despite of her unwillingness to do so, Kokilaben initiated a process of arbitration that ultimately resulted in the distribution of the company’s assets (49). Therefore, this component of the analysis certainly indicates the instrumental role of Dhirubhai and Kokilaben in Reliance Industries which could have not succeeded without their participation in its affairs. The succession of Reliance Industries to the next generation cannot be termed as a monumental success. In order to asses s this statement, the paper explores the ramifications of the succession from the point of view of the Ambani family and from a business perspective. Dhirubhai was always a firm believer in the concept of unity and trusted this notion as an â€Å"article of faith†, this observation first surfaced when he refused to divide Reliance upon the suggestion of his brothers (Grant and Nicholson 43). Similarly, Dhirubhai’s disapproval of family disputes and rifts especially between his sons is clearly observable from the fact that he would personally intervene to resolve any conflicts between Mukesh and Anil (Poza 348). Therefore, it can be stated Dhirubhai Ambani never wanted Reliance Industries to be partitioned. Grant and Nicholson claim that Kokilaben’s reluctance in dividing Reliance Industries was unequivocally clear when she intervened to resolve the issue in 2005 with the assistance of K V Kamath and Nimesh Kampani (49). The authors note that the continuation of Reliance Industries as a single entity was to be a representation of Dhirubhai’s legacy which could not survive due to the dispute between Mukesh and Anil (Grant and Nicholson 49). Henceforth, the succession of the great Indian company cannot be termed as successful from the perspective of the Ambani fam

Check Your Understanding Essay Example for Free

Check Your Understanding Essay 2. A principal-agent relationships involves the owners (principals) delegating decision-making authority to managers (agents). A conflict occurs when the agents pursue acceptable levels of shareholder wealth and profit rather than a maximization of profit. They are pursuing their own self-interests. One way that the agents act in their own self-interests would be by focusing on long-term job security. This could cause the agents to limit the amount of risk taken by the firm. The firm may have an opportunity that is considered a riskier venture that could produce high profits if successful. If the venture proves to be unsuccessful, then the agent is at risk of dismissal. Therefore, the agent may avoid taking advantage of that opportunity. This may also impact decisions concerning diversification and the nature of the cash flow. The actions of the agents are impacted by their compensation package, threat of dismissal, and the threat of a takeover by new owners. In order to mitigate agency problems, agents can receive either cash compensation or long-term incentives. The issue with immediate cash compensation is that it can further promote an agent to act in his or her own self-interest. For example, agents may choose a path of diversification that will result in immediate earnings. This could inflate the quarterly earnings that are directly tied to the agents’ executive bonuses that quarter, but hurt the profitability of the company and the value of the stock in the long-run. In addition, the cash compensation could work to take away from resources that could be used in the advancement of other areas of the company in order to promote growth in the company. Long-term incentives would be a better way to reward agents in order to align their interests with the interests of the principals. These incentives include restricted or deferred stock, as well as long-term performance based payments. If an agent owned stock in the company, then maximizing shareholder wealth would be the same as maximizing his own wealth. The agent would want the company to succeed so that he or she could benefit from its success. In addition, long-term performance based rewards could motivate the agent to make decisions that will pay off in the future instead of trying to produce instant results. The decisions made would promote the growth of the company rather than the growth of short-term bonuses (McGuigan, Moyer, Harris, 2011, pp.10-11). 3. Executive bonuses are often directly linked to corporate profitability. If there is a decline in profitability in the overall marketplace, then the performance percentage used to trigger executive bonuses would be affected. Therefore, if corporate profitability declined by 20 percent, then the percentage used to trigger executive bonuses should also decline by 20 percent. However, this may not be the best option if profitability is declining because it would allow the manager a greater ability to receive a bonus even in tough economic times. This could take away from resources that the company needs in order to try to remain profitable or competitive during these times. Therefore, the owners should keep the performance trigger the same or decrease it by half of the percentage that the corporate profitability declined. This may help the managers to try to find inventive ways to still reach that percentage so that they can still receive a bonus. This could be seen as a motivator. On the other hand, this would also mean that that managers’ total performance based compensation could decrease or be eliminated altogether. This could create issues with hiring and retaining the best managers. Many companies attract and retain exceptional executives based on the benefits package that includes bonuses and other perks. A company that is unwilling to adjust the performance trigger associated with executive bonuses may have difficulty attracting managers with the desired qualifications and experience. In addition, the managers hired may choose to only stay long enough to gain work experience and improve their resume before leaving to join a company with a more desirable bonus structure. A company has to find a way to achieve a balance between rewarding managers to the point that it is detrimental to the company and finding a way to maximize the wealth of the shareholders. 6. The goal of shareholder wealth maximization model is to maximize the return to shareholders, and it is measured by the value of the firm’s common stock. It is also concerned with minimizing the risk to the shareholders’ bonuses. The model looks at the present value of all expected future cash flows (McGuigan, Moyer, Harris, 2011, p.8). a) New foreign competitors: This has the potential to decrease the value of the firm and could impact the future cash flows of a company. The introduction of competition in the marketplace can affect the profitability of a company. The level of the decrease in value would depend on the involvement of the firm in global markets and the level of competition. b) Strict pollution control: This has the potential to decrease the value of the firm if the firm cannot adapt to the changes in requirements. If the firm allows the stricter requirements to hamper production, then the value of the firm would decrease. However, if the firm has planned for this threat by having flexibility when making business plans or creating new technology to take advantage of the Go Green movement, then there is an opportunity to increase the value of the firm. c) Unionization: This would decrease the value of the firm. Unionization would create an increase in risk that involves the ability to achieve operational efficiency. There would be a threat of union strikes that could delay or stop the production of products. This would create uncertainty and could affect future cash flows. d) Increase in inflation rate: In the shareholder wealth maximization model, an increase in inflation rates would be a factor that is out of the manager’s control and influences the price of a stock. Inflation would increase the cost of goods and services, while decreasing the purchasing power of money. An increase in inflation would decrease the value of a firm. If a company has the inability to purchase the same amount of goods with its money, then there is an increase in money spent in order to get the same amount of goods. Increased spending affects cash flows and would decrease the value of the firm. e) Reduced production costs through technology: This would increase the value of the firm. The reduction in the production costs would increase the overall profit. In addition, it has the potential to create more resources within the firm. The extra money from reduced costs could be used to improve other areas of the business in order to grow the business. This has the potential to increase future cash flows, which adds value to the company.

An Analysis Of Service Operations

An Analysis Of Service Operations Over the last decade, we saw an exponential growth in Lean and Six Sigma approaches. Recently the combination of Lean with Six Sigma as an improvement approach has captured the attentions of academia and industry. Lean Six Sigma was widely used in manufacturing sectors but can also be used in administration and service areas (Snee and Hoerl, 2004). Companies adopting Lean or Six Sigma have reported an increase in financial performance within a short term (Thomas, Barton et al., 2009), cost reduction (Anchanga 2006), improvement in customer satisfaction and cost saving (Sharma 2003). On the other hand, not all the companies that implement a continuous Improvement programme have been able to capture its entire economic benefits (Cusumano 1994; Sharma 2003). The objective of this essay is to demonstrate the power of Lean Six Sigma in the manufacturing and service sectors of business. Two case studies relating to both the business areas are discussed along with the significant benefits a nd drawbacks to its use in such areas. Review of literature As the name suggests, lean Six Sigma is an integration of lean and Six Sigma philosophies, principles and tools (Sheridan, 2000). Lean Six Sigma makes use of the knowledge, methods and tools resulting from decades of operational improvement research and implementation. Goal of Lean Six Sigma is growth and effectiveness and not just cost-cutting efficiency. According to Bendell (2006), the adoption of lean Six Sigma as a process improvement is yet to be fully established in particular area of academic research. Full potential of lean Six Sigma have not been realised (Smith, 2003).This failure is due to the lack of commitment from management (Cusumano, 1994). Lean focuses on reducing cost through process optimization and also on waste elimination in existing processes. Six Sigma is all about stakeholder expectations and meeting customer requirements. It also improves quality by measuring and eliminating defects. Both these approaches are implemented in isolation (Smith, 2003),leading to conflict of interest and draining of resources due to the creation of lean and six sigma subcultures that is emerged within the organization (Bendell, 2006). According to George (2003), Lean and Six Sigma help companies to deliver products and services at a faster pace without defects at minimum cost. Lean manufacturing focus on process flow and waste while Six Sigma focuses on variation and design. The below figure shows the DMAIC framework on which the Six Sigma projects are built. The five phases of DMAIC are Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. To improve the process speed and efficiency within the project, Lean Methods are used within the DMAIC framework to augment Six Sigma tools. Source: IBM Global Business Services analysis. Six Sigma complements Lean in three different ways (George 2003) by Providing senior management commitment and cultural infrastructure that cannot be generated by Lean initiatives. Having customer at the center of its activity and this is not seen in Lean approach. Reduce variation that cannot be achieved by lean tools and techniques. Lean complements Six Sigma in Four different ways (George 2003) by Non-value added activities are identified. Eliminating the non-value added activities improves and benefits Six Sigma. Process responsiveness and speed is improved. Speed and rapid response is increased with lean tools. Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) outlines the benefits when lean and Six Sigma are integrated. Companies use a set of tools that are common to both approaches ie tools like 5 why, Scatter diagram, Histograms, Pareto, Cause and Effect and Poka Yoke (Kumar et al., 2006). Table I shows the key lean implementation steps with the Six Sigma tools that can be used to complete each task. Source: (Pepper and Spedding, 2009). In an organization Six Sigma is implemented only by few specific individuals, whereas lean is used by everyone to identify and eliminate non-value adding activities(Higgins, 2005). Employees have true ownership of the process even at higher-level process analysis stage due to the integration of lean Six Sigma. According to Harrison(2006),Neither lean nor Six Sigma is very effective when implemented in isolation because of their forced needs within the organization. Smith (2003) says that this will result in the creation of two subcultures competing for the same resources. End objective of both the approach is to achieve quality throughout the process. According to Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005), continuous improvement of process is difficult if the approach is implemented alone. Organizations find it effective if implemented alone but after the initial improvement there is no improvement in the process. In order to avoid this lean approach should combine the use of targeted data to ma ke decisions and also to approach quality in a more scientific way within the system. On the other hand, it is necessary that the Six Sigma adopts a wider system approach, by considering the effects of waste on the system as a whole. These approaches are considered to be ineffective by many people and they feel that the blending of these approaches leads to ineffectiveness and led to some criticism in the literature. Bendell (2006) who has vast experience as both practitioner and as an academician argues that lean Six Sigma for becoming ill-defined philosophies, thus becoming a less effective tool. Bendell feels that it would be beneficial if there is a single approach combining the effectiveness of both the lean and Six Sigma approaches. This emphasizes the fact that consultants have provided a number of consultancy models for lean Six Sigma which is available on the World Wide Web. Methodologies used by these consultants are without any logical explanation and theoretical support or explanation for choosing the techniques. Taking a practitioner view, Spector and West (2006) says that when practitioners adopt lean and Six Sigma involve in many projects that yields insufficient results due to the time required to complete them. According to Mika(2006) both the approaches are not compatible with one another because lean is open to workers and encourages teamwork whereas six sigma is not available to the average worker on the floor. The use of lean tools and techniques identifies important areas that can be leveraged by Six Sigma techniques and also to arrange the information flow to run the system by providing continuous feedback (Pepper and Spedding, 2009). In few literatures, the main concerns when building a new and a complete framework for lean six sigma is that it focuses on process and strategy and that it should strike a balance between complexity and sustainability and finally structured around the type of problem thats encountered and by recognizing the advantages of both these approaches. Findings Lean Six Sigma approach in Healthcare related to service operation and small engineering company of manufacturing sector case is discussed below. Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare(de Koning et al., 2006) Like any other service operation, Healthcare needs to remain cost efficient, competitive and up-to-date. This can be achieved by using Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare sectors. George (2003) describes innovative work on Lean Six Sigma at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Let us take the case where lean Six Sigma is used by Red Cross Hospital in Netherlands. Worldwide the cost of medical care is increasing at an alarming speed. Unnecessary operational inefficiency leads to increase expenditure in healthcare. In order to improve quality wastefulness has to be measured. Medical service delivery process has led to operational inefficiency. First quality improvement techniques were initiated followed by six Sigma, lean and then lean Six Sigma. In 2002 the Hospital started using Six Sigma and found that this methodology provided solutions to many of the below mentioned problems identified by top management. At times absence of important business case. Absence of Project-tracking system. Failed method for project management and control. Many incomplete projects. Lean Six Sigma projects in healthcare include both the medical as well as the administrative problems. Quality improvement is not only to address defects like medication errors but can be widened to various fields of application. The kind of problems tackled in healthcare are shortening the length of stay in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients Errors related to invoices received from temporary agencies are reduced. Revision of payment terms. Number of patients needing intravenous antibiotics is reduced. Intravenous medications preparation time is shortened. The Red Cross Hospital involvement shows the vital elements of the Lean Six Sigma approach. These are: Organizational infrastructure of Six Sigma applied. Quality improvement deployment focused on each project. Training employees leading to evolving organizational ability for innovation . Selection of projects had a strategic focus. A serious budget cut was imposed on the Red Cross Hospital. This demanded a strict focus on cost reductions while keeping quality on focus. The clinic needs profitability to sustain its operations as the fixed costs cannot control the operations. Lean Six Sigma in a small engineering company (Thomas, 2009) To enhance manufacturing operations, companies use Lean Six Sigma. small engineering company (Thomas, Barton et al. 2009) is a leader in seating systems for automotive and aerospace industries. Manufactured products are supplied to worldwide markets increasing the competition from low cost countries and the need to be responsive to customers led the company to adopt lean. The company preferred to create in-house expertise to process systems development as consultants were ineffective. When the company moved into the high-value markets its profit increased by manufacturing less products, higher quality and the delivery requirements were tight. This lead to the need to use lean Six Sigma to respond effectively to the unpredictable customer demands. The company had the potential to innovate continuously along with the awareness in infrastructure quality and investment. This approach provided the company with a simple structure but an effective one which resulted in the manufacturing operations and product capabilities improvements. Discussion Based on the literature review, the advantages and disadvantages for the above mentioned case studies using Lean Six Sigma is discussed below. Advantages/benefits when introducing lean six sigma Improved Quality When concentrating on the product development and production, the number of defects in the manufactured products is reduced as the problems are identified in the manufacturing process. This results in waste elimination, improving efficiency and increased customer loyalty towards the product. Reduced waste Wastes are eliminated in order to protect the product and the reputation of the organization. Improvement of cash flow Products are made to order thus reducing the inventory and increasing the available cash. Safer working environment Workers and customer safety is considered when using lean Six Sigma within an organization, thus reducing accidents. Customer Expectations Organizations use lean Six Sigma in order to satisfy and to meet the customer demands. Changes a companys culture Manufacturing processes are viewed from different perspectives. Employees at various levels in the process make decisions by relying on data than giving importance to gut feelings. The implementation of lean Six Sigma can be done on a trial and error ie by introducing it within a department before implementing it across the whole organization. Having in-house expertise to process systems development saves cost. The company developed advanced maintenance techniques with fewer breakdowns by using TPM. Products are delivered at the right time. Cycle time is reduced. Complexity in hiring personnel resulting in reduced rework and major cost savings. Starting times of the operation theatre was reduced resulting in further improvement of the process. Maintenance resulted in fewer complained and increase in revenue. Disadvantages/drawbacks when introducing lean Six Sigma Lack of vision affects the LSS implementation. Implement the LSS tools and techniques solely depend on the experts having high skills. Only LSS tools and techniques are used to solve all the problems. Cannot be implemented when timeline expectation is short. Cannot be used when the business is beyond repair. Requires full commitment from top management. Minimum amount of resources is at least required. The effectiveness of few tools and techniques were limited due to the inadequate statistical data. Conclusion It is obvious that the lean thinking and scientific improvement standard of Six Sigma have led to success across industries. When fused together both the approaches become a powerful tool. Lean Six Sigma can be used in all sectors within any industry and does not only relate to manufacturing sector. In this essay we discussed the advantages and disadvantages in using Lean Six Sigma approach. Innovations are necessary in the service delivery process. We also discussed that operational improvement was the main motive for organizations using Lean Six Sigma leading to performance improvements, cost reduction and customer satisfaction. Literature review also highlighted the possible ways of using both the approach. For a company to have employees trained is an added benefit. Using Lean Six Sigma companies should focus on doing better things than just to do things better.