Comparing two projects Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10500 words

Comparing two projects - Research Paper Example rojects preceded from necessity but while the Gautrain project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the province of Gauteng and the Bombela Consortium, the A380 is a flagship project of a company whose majority shares are owned by European governments under a â€Å"Contractual Partnership.† As a PPP, the Gautrain project was initiated by the Gauteng province, which provided the land and the accompanying pertinent legislations. On the other hand, concessionaire Bombela, the winning private concessionaire, took care of the rest - subcontracting various aspects of the works from the civil works, electrical and mechanical works, operations and maintenance to its various partners. The risks are therefore shifted from Gauteng to Bombela. Airbus, on the other hand, divided the work on the A380 among its several partners whose plants are located across the European continent in accordance with the latter’s specialisation; their finished products eventually transported to Airbus’ main headquarters in Toulouse, France for assembly work. The cost of production of the Gautrain was primarily shouldered by the private concessionaire while the A380 was shouldered alone by the airplane manufacturer partly from money loaned to it by the respective government partners unde r a â€Å"launch loan.† Of the nine provinces constituting South Africa (SA hereafter), Gauteng is the smallest with its area comprising a mere 1.4% of the entire area of the country. As can be seen from Fig. 1, Gauteng (in yellow) is located in the northeastern portion and is landlocked by four other SA provinces. Despite its area and inaccessibility to export and import terminals, Gauteng is the economic center of South Africa 1 and is home to most of SA’s corporate headquarters and financial sector located in the province. 2 It comprises three very important urban areas: Pretoria, the capital of South Africa where the national political government is located; Johannesburg, the capital of the

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G Essay

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G - Essay Example P&G is restructuring its product portfolio as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan. Nearly 100 brands that collectively generate revenue of $2.4 billion are likely to be divested (Kumar). P&G has 23 billion dollar brands in its portfolio which will be retained. The success of a brand restructuring program is to identify and weed out low performing brands and retain the cash cows. P&G is treading on the right path and therefore investors should feel encouraged. The leaner, trimmed down P&G is likely to be more focused, nimble and responsive to customer needs which will help the company in the long run. A.G. Lafley resumed the position of P&G’s CEO in 2013. He had been at the helm of P&G from 2000 to 2009. Thereafter, Bob McDonald steered the P&G ship for four years (Coolidge). Lafley returned as CEO to guide P&G out of the woods. He is presently overseeing a massive restructuring plan (Green). He is committed to reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Lafley’s leadership style is bound to make a profound difference for the business going forward. The incumbent CEO intends to  refocus on innovation; an attribute that helped P&G reach dizzy heights during his first tenure (Coolidge). Lafley is an astute strategist who is willing to take calculated risks. He believes in the philosophy that customer is the boss. Lafley’s assertiveness, creativity and infallible administrative ability have won him many accolades and awards (Ukessays.com). P&G offers job opportunities across functional areas, geographical territories and hierarchical levels. The company offers full-time and part-time jobs, temporary work as well internships. P&G scouts for people who are curious and innovative. People who are able to establish a rapport with other people are seen as potential employees. P&G hires agile people who are prepared to meet the challenges head-on. Employees having these traits mesh well with P&G’s organizational culture and help fuel future growth  of the company. The reasoning test checks the cognitive ability of the candidate.

Reflective journal on management skills Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflective journal on management skills - Article Example A manager ought to be both a leader and a motivator. Before acting, a manager ought to consider the adverse effects her actions will have on both the immediate task at hand and the organization at large. A manager must always remember that the greatest asset in the organization is the people working there. In this instant scenario, the lead counselor dismissed the counselor’s ideas in a contemptuous manner that showed an inadequate possession of ‘people skills’. This is why the event occurred. This event is a good learning experience as it showed me how not to deal with employees when I become a manager. Employees need to feel appreciated. Reflecting on the scenario above, I have come to realize that even though as a manager I will have the final say on whatever action has to be taken, I need to be a good listener. This is especially crucial when I am listening to input that I personally consider as being worth nothing. This will change the way I interact with my staff. I don’t have to reject an idea in a manner that will leave the employee feeling worthless. I can do it in a better way. I have realized that employees being human, I need to respect their emotions. LaMalfa (2007, pg1) observes that â€Å"research shows that emotionally connected employees are the best employees because they are engaged and productive, and they feel validated and appreciated†. I need to make my employees appreciated so that I may be a good team leader. To achieve this I need to be more open and receptive to ideas from others especially those I consider my subordinates. This is because I am not perfect and the best ideas sometimes come from ‘subordinates’. Developing a teamwork attitude is perhaps the best way to achieve this transformation as I will then be seeing myself as being part of such ideas and won’t feel intimidated when a subordinate proposes changes to my ideas or even better ideas than mine. LaMalfa, K., 2007, The

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G Essay

The Advantages & Disadvantages for Working at P&G - Essay Example P&G is restructuring its product portfolio as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan. Nearly 100 brands that collectively generate revenue of $2.4 billion are likely to be divested (Kumar). P&G has 23 billion dollar brands in its portfolio which will be retained. The success of a brand restructuring program is to identify and weed out low performing brands and retain the cash cows. P&G is treading on the right path and therefore investors should feel encouraged. The leaner, trimmed down P&G is likely to be more focused, nimble and responsive to customer needs which will help the company in the long run. A.G. Lafley resumed the position of P&G’s CEO in 2013. He had been at the helm of P&G from 2000 to 2009. Thereafter, Bob McDonald steered the P&G ship for four years (Coolidge). Lafley returned as CEO to guide P&G out of the woods. He is presently overseeing a massive restructuring plan (Green). He is committed to reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Lafley’s leadership style is bound to make a profound difference for the business going forward. The incumbent CEO intends to  refocus on innovation; an attribute that helped P&G reach dizzy heights during his first tenure (Coolidge). Lafley is an astute strategist who is willing to take calculated risks. He believes in the philosophy that customer is the boss. Lafley’s assertiveness, creativity and infallible administrative ability have won him many accolades and awards (Ukessays.com). P&G offers job opportunities across functional areas, geographical territories and hierarchical levels. The company offers full-time and part-time jobs, temporary work as well internships. P&G scouts for people who are curious and innovative. People who are able to establish a rapport with other people are seen as potential employees. P&G hires agile people who are prepared to meet the challenges head-on. Employees having these traits mesh well with P&G’s organizational culture and help fuel future growth  of the company. The reasoning test checks the cognitive ability of the candidate.

Free

Free Space Optics Essay ABSTRACT: FSO may sound new and experimental but in fact it predates optical fiber and has its roots in wartime efforts to develop secure communication systems that did not require cable and could withstand radio jamming. FSO has been around for more than a decade, but it is only recently that interest in this technology has started to grow. Free Space Optics (FSO) communications, also called Free Space Photonics (FSP) or Optical Wireless, refers to the transmission of modulated visible or infrared (IR) beams through the atmosphere to obtain optical communications. Like fiber, Free Space Optics (FSO) uses lasers to transmit data, but instead of enclosing the data stream in a glass fiber, it is transmitted through the air. Free Space Optics (FSO) works on the same basic principle as Infrared television remote controls, wireless keyboards or wireless Palm ® devices. How Free Space Optics (FSO) Works Free Space Optics (FSO) transmits invisible, eye-safe light beams from one telescope to another using low power infrared laser in the terahertz spectrum. The beams of light in Free Space Optics (FSO) systems are transmitted by laser light focused on highly sensitive photon detector receivers. These receivers are telescopic lenses able to collect the photon stream and transmit digital data containing a mix of Internet messages, video images, radio signals or computer files. Commercially available systems offer capacities in the range of 100 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps, and demonstration systems report data rates as high as 160 Gbps. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems can function over distances of several kilometers. As long as there is a clear line of sight between the source and the destination, and enough transmitter power, Free Space Optics (FSO) communication is possible. [pic] Free Space optics (fso) technology Lasers are one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century they can be found in many modern products, from CD players to fiber-optic networks. A laser generates light, either visible or infrared, through a process known as stimulated emission. To understand stimulated emission, understanding two basic concepts is necessary. The first is absorption which occurs when an atom absorbs energy or photons. The second is emission which occurs when an atom emits photons. Emission occurs when an atom is in an excited or high energy state and returns to a stable or ground state – when this occurs naturally it is called spontaneous emission because no outside trigger is required. Stimulated emission occurs when an already excited atom is bombarded by yet another photon causing it to release that photon along with the photon which previously excited it. Photons are particles, or more properly quanta, of light and a light beam is made up of what can be thought of as a stream of photons. [pic] A basic laser uses a mirrored chamber or cavity to reflect light waves so they reinforce each other. An excitable substance – gas, liquid, or solid like the original ruby laser – is contained within the cavity and determines the wavelength of the resulting laser beam. Through a process called pumping, energy is introduced to the cavity exciting the atoms within and causing a population inversion. A population inversion is when there are more excited atoms than grounded atoms which then leads to stimulated emission. The released photons oscillate back and forth between the mirrors of the cavity, building energy and causing other atoms to release more photons. One of the mirrors allows some of the released photons to escape the cavity resulting in a laser beam emitting from one end of the cavity. Terrestrial Laser CommunicatIOns Challenges FogFog substantially attenuates visible radiation, and it has a similar affect on the near-infrared wavelengths that are employed in laser communications. Similar to the case of rain attenuation with RF wireless, fog attenuation is not a â€Å"show-stopper† for optical wireless, because the optical link can be engineered such that, for a large fraction of the time, an acceptable power will be received even in the presence of heavy fog. Laser communication systems can be enhanced to yield even greater availabilities by combining them with RF systems. Physical Obstructions Laser communications systems that employ multiple, spatially diverse transmitters and large receive optics will eliminate interference concerns from objects such as birds. Pointing Stability Pointing stability in commercial laser communications systems is achieved by one of two methods. The simpler, less costly method is to widen the beam divergence so that if either end of the link moves the receiver will still be within the beam. The second method is to employ a beam tracking system. While more costly, such systems allow for a tighter beam to be transmitted allowing for higher security and longer distance transmissions. Scintillation Performance of many laser communications systems is adversely affected by scintillation on bright sunny days. Through a large aperture receiver, widely spaced transmitters, finely tuned receive filtering, and automatic gain control, downtime due to scintillation can be avoided. FSO: Wireless, at the Speed of Light Unlike radio and microwave systems, Free Space Optics (FSO) is an optical technology and no spectrum licensing or frequency coordination with other users is required, interference from or to other systems or equipment is not a concern, and the point-to-point laser signal is extremely difficult to intercept, and therefore secure. Data rates comparable to optical fiber transmission can be carried by Free Space Optics (FSO) systems with very low error rates, while the extremely narrow laser beam widths ensure that there is almost no practical limit to the number of separate Free Space Optics (FSO) links that can be installed in a given location. How Free Space Optics (FSO) can help? FSO’s freedom from licensing and regulation translates into ease, speed and low cost of deployment. Since Free Space Optics (FSO) transceivers can transmit and receive through windows, it is possible to mount Free Space Optics (FSO) systems inside buildings, reducing the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling, and permitting Free Space Optics (FSO) equipment to operate in a very favorable environment. The only essential requirement for Free Space Optics (FSO) or optical wireless transmission is line of sight between the two ends of the link. For Metro Area Network (MAN) providers the last mile or even feet can be the most daunting. Free Space Optics (FSO) networks can close this gap and allow new customer’s access to high-speed MAN’s. Providers also can take advantage of the reduced risk of installing an Free Space Optics (FSO) network which can later be redeployed. The Market. Why FSO? Breaking the Bandwidth Bottleneck Why FSO? The global telecommunications network has seen massive expansion over the last few years. First came the tremendous growth of the optical fiber long-haul, wide-area network (WAN), followed by a more recent emphasis on metropolitan area networks (MANs). Meanwhile, local area networks (LANs) and gigabit ethernet ports are being deployed with a comparable growth rate. In order for this tremendous network capacity to be exploited, and for the users to be able to utilize the broad array of new services becoming available, network designers must provide a flexible and cost-effective means for the users to access the telecommunications network. Presently, however, most local loop network connections are limited to 1.5 Mbps (a T1 line). As a consequence, there is a strong need for a high-bandwidth bridge (the â€Å"last mile† or â€Å"first mile†) between the LANs and the MANs or WANs. A recent New York Times article reported that more than 100 million miles of optical fiber was laid around the world in the last two years, as carriers reacted to the Internet phenomenon and end users’ insatiable demand for bandwidth. The sheer scale of connecting whole communities, cities and regions to that fiber optic cable or â€Å"backbone† is something not many players understood well. Despite the huge investment in trenching and optical cable, most of the fiber remains unlit, 80 to 90% of office, commercial and industrial buildings are not connected to fiber, and transport prices are dropping dramatically. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems represent one of the most promising approaches for addressing the emerging broadband access market and its â€Å"last mile† bottleneck. Free Space Optics (FSO) systems offer many features, principal among them being low start-up and operational costs, rapid deployment, and high fiber-like bandwidths due to the optical nature of the technology. Broadband Bandwidth Alternatives Access technologies in general use today include telco-provisioned copper wire, wireless Internet access, broadband RF/microwave, coaxial cable and direct optical fiber connections (fiber to the building; fiber to the home). Telco/PTT telephone networks are still trapped in the old Time Division Multiplex (TDM) based network infrastructure that rations bandwidth to the customer in increments of 1.5 Mbps (T-1) or 2.024 Mbps (E-1). DSL penetration rates have been throttled by slow deployment and the pricing strategies of the PTTs. Cable modem access has had more success in residential markets, but suffers from security and capacity problems, and is generally conditional on the user subscribing to a package of cable TV channels. Wireless Internet access is still slow, and the tiny screen renders it of little appeal for web browsing. Broadband RF/microwave systems have severe limitations and are losing favor. The radio spectrum is a scarce and expensive licensed commodity, sold or leased to the highest bidder, or on a first-come first-served basis, and all too often, simply unavailable due to congestion. As building owners have realized the value of their roof space, the price of roof rights has risen sharply. Furthermore, radio equipment is not inexpensive, the maximum data rates achievable with RF systems are low compared to optical fiber, and communications channels are insecure and subject to interference from and to other systems (a major constraint on the use of radio systems). Advantages A free space optical (FSO) system offers a flexible networking solution that delivers on the promise of broadband. Only free space optics or Free Space Optics (FSO) provides the essential combination of qualities required to bring the traffic to the optical fiber backbone – virtually unlimited bandwidth, low cost, ease and speed of deployment. Freedom from licensing and regulation translates into ease, speed and low cost of deployment. Since Free Space Optics (FSO) optical wireless transceivers can transmit and receive through windows, it is possible to mount Free Space Optics (FSO) systems inside buildings, reducing the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling, and permitting the equipment to operate in a very favorable environment. The only essential for Free Space Optics (FSO) is line of sight between the two ends of the link. âž ¢ Freedom from licensing and regulation leads to ease, speed and low cost of deployment. âž ¢ Since FSO units can receive and transmit through windows it reduces the need to compete for roof space, simplifying wiring and cabling. âž ¢ Only need is the line of sight between the two ends of the link. âž ¢ Providers take advantage of the reduced risk in installing FSO equipment, which can even be re-deployed. âž ¢ Zero chances of network failure. âž ¢ Virtually unlimited bandwidth. APPLICATIONS âž ¢ Metro network extensions – FSO is used to extend existing metropolitan area fiberings to connect new networks from outside. âž ¢ Last mile access – FSO can be used in high-speed links to connect end users with ISPs. âž ¢ Enterprise connectivity The ease in which FSO can be installed makes them a solution for interconnecting LAN segments, housed in buildings separated by public streets. âž ¢ Fiber backup FSO may be deployed in redundant links to backup fiber in place of a second fiber link. âž ¢ Backhaul – Used to carry cellular telephone traffic from antenna towers back to facilities into the public switched telephone networks. Free Space Optics (FSO) Challenges The advantages of free space optical wireless or Free Space Optics (FSO) do not come without some cost. When light is transmitted through optical fiber, transmission integrity is quite predictable – barring unforeseen events such as backhoes or animal interference. When light is transmitted through the air, as with Free Space Optics (FSO) optical wireless systems, it must contend with a complex and not always quantifiable subject the atmosphere. âž ¢ Fog and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Physical obstructions and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Free space optics (fso) pointing stability – building sway, tower movemen t âž ¢ Scintillation and free space optics (fso) âž ¢ Solar interference and free space optics CONCLUSION FSO enables optical transmission of voice video and data through air at very high rates. It has key roles to play as primary access medium and backup technology. Driven by the need for high speed local loop connectivity and the cost and the difficulties of deploying fiber, the interest in FSO has certainly picked up dramatically among service providers worldwide. Instead of fiber coaxial systems, fiber laser systems may turn out to be the best way to deliver high data rates to your home. FSO continues to accelerate the vision of all optical networks cost effectively, reliably and quickly with freedom and flexibility of deployment. REFERENCES 1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication 2)http://www.freespaceoptics.org/freespaceoptics/default.cfm 3) http://www.freespaceoptic.com/

The Ultimate Goal Of JIT

The Ultimate Goal Of JIT JIT is a Japanese concept. Also called the Toyota production system, it aims at producing the necessary parts in quantities needed, at the time they are required. The ultimate goal of JIT is to eliminate inventory, to have minimal work in process inventory monitored by reduction in working capital. JIT considers 7 types of wastes. Overproduction producing more than the customer needs Transportation Anywhere where goods are moved within a process Waiting where waiting time occurs, traditionally where one process waits for another to finish before it can start. Inventory typified by stock or materials that are not being used in the process or current activity. Motion Poor planning and organizational layout often cause motion waste Over processing where steps occur in the production process that do not add value to the end customer this is termed overproduction Defects The process results in an error or requires rework JIT divides all works into value adding and non-value adding activities and then eliminates all non value adding activities. Kanban is one means through which JIT is achieved. It is a scheduling system that tells you what to produce, when to produce it, and how much to produce Poka-yoke is a Japanese term that means fail-safing or mistake-proofing. Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to affect the principle of jidoka. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. Kaizen refers to the philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, supporting business processes, and management. Literature review Weiters (1984) in one of the first literatures on this topic states that Financial justification of JIT in service industries is less likely but in service industries JIT offers intangible benefits in terms of improved service quality and customer satisfaction.(cited by Inman and Mehra 1990) Benson (1986) was the first to point out Service operations are organised systems of production processes with the same potential of improvement through implementation of JIT precepts as manufacturing operations Cited by Duclos et. al. 1995 Berling and Geppi (1989) studied the supply chain of healthcare sector and offered JIT as an approach to hospitals in order to reduce inventory. They suggested closer relationships between hospitals and distributors. Billesbach and Schniederjans (1989) present a case study on JIT application in an administration setting. The case was on a big corporation and JIT programme was implemented in the headquarters of this corporation. Their approach was based on examining activities and the ones not contributing to result to be eliminated. Inman and Mehra (1990) had worked on FedEx. This package delivery company implements JIT to reduce their inventory of quasi-MRO goods (mainly packaging, labelling supplies).aimed at improving their service quality and competitiveness through implementation of JIT and anticipated that inventories would be reduced as a result. Lee (1990) presents a case study of a small bank. Study is focused on this banks loan approval process. Bank follows a two phase process and first evaluates the applications and makes the decision of lending in second phase. This process usually takes 12 days. Applying JIT approach whole process is redesigned and several tasks are unified. New approval process takes 4-5 days. Wasco et. al.( 1991) presents a case Kodaks quality assurance division. This division provides services to worldwide chain of Kodak. An MRP II system is implemented with JIT approach and conclusion of the study is JIT techniques enhance the potential of MRP application. One of the most radical case studies is presented by Barlow (2002). He investigates the applicability of JIT techniques to hotel industry. Weakness of this study is it concentrates on liquor stocks of these hotels and draws conclusions on if statements and these hotels actually do not adopt any JIT techniques. Ruiz (2003 pp.1) JIT focuses on the process, not product. Therefore it can be applied (in theory) to any group of processes, whether manufacturing or service. Ultimate goal of JIT is to produce a good and a service without waste Literature on the matter quite confidently states that JIT can be applied in services and through reported case studies evidence is provided. JIT applications in service industries are vague in some sense. There are no empirical studies and reported case usually resembles manufacturing setting. Service operations management evolution How to implement JIT in services? A philosophy of manufacturing excellence based on pursuit of the planned elimination of all waste and consistent improvement of productivity. It encompasses the successful execution of all manufacturing activities required to produce a final product from design engineering to delivery and including all stages from conversion of raw material onward (APICS, 1992). Total visibility of equipment, people, material and processes; Synchronization and balance of production to sales and supply to production; Respect for people Line operators is responsible for production, problem solving and improvement; Flexibility adapt production to customer needs; Continuous improvement never satisfied with the process; Responsibility for the operations environment those who design, manage and operate the processes are responsible for the outcome; Holistic approach companywide philosophy of elimination of waste; Each of these JIT themes may be applicable to service organizations; Synchronization and balance of information and work flow matching output with customer demand one of the important aspects of service operations often cannot inventory the output of their processes making balance even more vital Semantodontics, a direct marketing company selling nationwide by catalogue to dentists, also found JIT an appropriate approach for reducing the time to process paperwork (Conant, 1988) and, hence, the time required for a dentist to receive an order. The idea of making lot sizes as small as possible was implemented by decreasing the batch size in which telephone orders were aggregated. As a result, telephone orders were moved to the second stage of the process three times daily rather than once a day, as was the previous norm. Set-up time for entering new customer records was reduced by moving the process to the original telephone operation where the data were first gathered. The decrease in order batch size had a behavioural impact on employees as well. From the sense of satisfaction gained on completion of multiple small batches, employees tended to work faster and more efficiently. Atlantic Envelope Company uses kanban trays at its Atlanta facility to move documents within the order entry department. Order entry time fell to under a day from a previous uncertain number of days. Total visibility of all components of the process Northern Telecom Inc.s (NTI) Customer Service Centre borders the traditional manufacturing environment (Savage-Moore, 1988) and the implementation is a good example of providing visibility through the use of work cells. This unit of NTI has the labour-intensive responsibility of repairing printed circuit packs (PCPs). For an individual PCP, it is difficult to predefine the specific repair process required, not unlike a job shop environment. The work cell concept was applied to keep all work on a PCP performed within a single cell and by one team of employees. This provided all employees repairing a PCP with visibility as to the repair needs and processes used to repair the product. Additionally, employees were cross-trained to staff the cells and jobs were redefined to recognize employee training efforts. Over a two-year period, NTI saw customer service levels increase from 85 per cent to 100 per cent and quality levels significantly improved. Work-in-progress inventory was reduced b y 75 per cent and repair cycle times reduced from one week to less than 48 hours. Continuous improvement of the process The Manufacturing Quality Assurance Organization at Kodak in Rochester, New York provides specialized services in the form of sample testing of photographic film, chemical and environmental testing, equipment development and calibration control. JIT precepts were introduced to provide a framework for involving the entire organization in continuous improvement (Wasco et al., 1991). Fifty JIT cells were established to start the JIT delivery of products or services based on functional precepts. JIT activities were used to reduce work-handling steps and run times. Improvements through JIT techniques saved an average of $33,000 per month in 1990. Holistic approach to elimination of waste suppliers Few suppliers; Nearby suppliers; Repeat business with same suppliers; Active use of analysis to enable desirable suppliers to become/stay price-competitive; Clusters of remote suppliers, competitive bidding mostly limited to new part numbers; Buyer plant resists vertical integration and subsequent wipe-out of supplier business; Suppliers are encouraged to extend JIT buying to their suppliers; Quantities: Steady output rate (a desirable prerequisite); Frequent delivery in small quantities; Long-term contract agreements; Minimal release paperwork; Delivery quantities variable from release to release, but fixed for whole contract term; Little or no permissible overage or underage of receipts; Suppliers encouraged to package in exact quantities; Suppliers encouraged reducing their production lot sizes (or store unreleased material); Quality: Minimal product specifications imposed on supplier; Help suppliers to meet quality requirements; Close relationships between buyers and suppliers quality assurance people; Suppliers encouraged to use process control charts instead of lot sampling inspection; shipping: Scheduling of inbound freight; Gain control by use of company-owned or contract shipping, contract warehousing, and trailers for freight consolidation/storage where possible instead of using common carriers. Flexibility in the use of resources Bookbinder and Locke (1986) present a model to determine if JIT distribution methodology is a feasible alternative to traditional distribution methods. They investigated the behaviour of two different distribution models for JIT organizations. In the first, a factory-warehouse-retailer distribution system, the warehouse holds stock. In the second, stock moves from factory directly to retailers. The models were compared using statistical tests, and the second model was determined to be the superior distribution system because it furnished essentially the same service level to retailers while carrying one less echelon of stock. Another mathematical model is offered by Ramasesh (1990) for the implementation of JIT techniques in purchasing systems that have not yet advanced to the ultimate level of JIT purchasing (lot size of one). He treated the fixed costs associated with the adoption of JIT as investment, and justified it based on the savings generated using any of the techniques of investment analysis. He modified the traditional economic order quantity model to include explicitly the costs of small-lot shipments. He also provided guidelines and formulae for determining the order quantity and the optimal number of shipments. Case studies DHL- impact of JIT The founders began to personally ship papers by airline from San Francisco to Honolulu, beginning customs clearance of the ships cargo before the actual arrival of the ship and dramatically reducing waiting time in the harbour. With this concept, a new industry was born: international air express, the rapid delivery of documents and shipments by airplane. DHL network continued to grow at an incredible pace. The company expanded westward from Hawaii into the Far East and Pacific Rim, then the Middle East, Africa and Europe. By 1988, DHL was already present in 170 countries and had 16,000 employees. The different business units of the company are DHL Express DHL Freight DHL Global Forwarding DHL Exel Supply DHL Global Mail The process above mentioned was improved using JIT with following ways Inventory Management Concerning Services For instance, in the case of DHL, vehicles, bicycles and other assets that facilitate service delivery must be accounted for, serviced, ready and available to be used for work purpose. Quality Management Concerning Services Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Competence Courtesy Access Supplier Relations Concerning Services Human Resource Management Concerning Services JIT in retail The key principles of JIT in any system are: No wastage, Total visibility, and Flexibility in the use of human and material resources In any environment these principles translate into three simple rules: dont start any work unless the demand signal indicates a need for more material; if the demand signal indicates a need, work to fill that need; and, never exceed the queue-size limit Automatic Replenishment Systems (ARS) is also an example of application of JIT in retail. JIT in Indian service industry A survey was done on the Indian service industry. The data was collected from the selected service industries and analyzed. The results of degree of importance are given in the table The most important element recognized by the Service industries was waste reduction (mean=0.8929). The least important element was JIDOKA (mean=0.5625). The elements of the study are mentioned in appendix table 1 JIT in hospitals Most research in the health care industry has been directed toward process and information system improvements. Generally, service environments such as health care are likely candidates for JIT if their operations are repetitive, have reasonably high volume, and deal with tangible items such as mail, checks, bills or letters. In hospitals, there is a vital department named CSSD (Centre for Sterilization Service department), the functions of which include materials management, instruments reception, washing, packing and sterilization, sterile store, instruments distribution As an illustration a previous supplier model can be analysed And compared with an improved model, which centralises and streamlines the supply chain JIT in administrative setting JIT practices and their effect on quality can be analysed Human elements of JIT Steps in implementation of JIT in service industry Eliminate disruptions in work of the employees and make the service system flexible and train the workers to handle more variety. reduce set-up time and eliminate waste including errors and duplicate work and minimise work-in process e.g. Packages waiting to be delivered, calls waiting to be answered, pending orders to be processed, trucks waiting to be loaded/unloaded Generally, service environment may benefit from jit system if the operations are repetitive, have high volume, and deal with tangible items e.g. Sandwiches, mail or bills services must involve manufacturing like operation Consistently high quality service employees can be taught the value of providing defect free services uniform facility loading reservation systems and differential pricing are ways to level the load on the facilities standardised work methods high efficiencies achieved by analysing work methods and standardising Close supplier ties volume services such as fast-food joints and mass merchandisers require close supplier contacts to ensure frequent short lead time and high quality shipment of supplies Flexible work force greater the customisation in the service, greater is the need for a multi-skilled workforce e.g. Electronic repair shops needing wider experienced workforce to diagnose the problems and repair the defects Line flow strategy mangers can recognise their employees and equipment to provide uniform flows through the system, and eliminate wasted employee time e.g. Banks use this system in their cheque processing operations Process improvement and problem solving can contribute to streamlining a system, resulting in increased customer satisfaction, and higher productivity e.g. Self service system including retail operations, ATM, vending machines, service stations etc which is the ability to provide services when required simplify the process, especially when customers are part of the system jit services , if achieved , can be a major competitive advantage for companies A Framework Appendix Table 1:

The Great Starvation of Ireland :: essays papers

The Great Starvation of Ireland I.The starvation in Ireland: 1845-1852 Over the years, the people of Ireland have suffered many hardships, but none compare to the devastation brought by the Irish potato famine of 1845-1857. A poorly managed nation together with ideally wicked weather conditions brought Ireland to the brink of disaster. It was a combination of social, political and economic factors that pushed it over the edge. After a long wet summer, the potato blight first appeared in Wexford and Waterford in September of 1845. The phytophora infestans were carried in on ships from Europe and America. Less than a year later, in August of 1846, virtually the entire potato crop in Ireland had been destroyed. The following winter became unbearable for the already starving nation. The westerly winds, which usually brought warmer air, failed, letting cold conditions from Scandinavia and Russia overtake the island of Ireland. The effects of malnutrition from starvation combined with the unusually cold temperatures aided in the spread of disease and ultimately death among the nation of Ireland. Starvation, respiratory disease, typhus epidemics, cholera, dysentery, scurvy, and deficiencies in vitamin A, all contributed to the loss of over a million Irishmen over a seven-year period. The practice of medicine at the onset of the blight was extremely inadequate. Ireland had only 39 infirmaries; this transla ted into one clinic for every 366,000 people. When looking at these numbers, one can easily understand why so many perished. Many of the deaths during the famine were never recorded, because of this the death toll may never be known. The number of deaths related to starvation is estimated to range from one to one and a half million people. According to Don Mullan, 200-300 mass graves were discovered, and in each grave over 1,000 bodies were identified. The infant mortality rate in some areas reached 50%. It was mainly the deaths of babies and children were the ones that often went unrecorded. The beginnings of the starvation are said to be a â€Å"biometeorological phenomenon,† however, the British reacted in a sociopolitical manner. Relief from the British government was slow and insignificant. The economic policies that existed were unhelpful and the British Parliament refused to make adjustments to provide for a national disaster. No free food was offered to the starving people as long as there was food for sale.