The Lewis Model

The Lewis Model Describe the Lewis model as a model for structural change. How does the Harris-Todaro model of rural-urban migration differ from the assumptions and the outcomes of the Lewis model? Economic growth refers to the increasing productive capacity of the country, which results in an increase in productive output and national income. There are numerous theories relating to economic growth and impacts as a result growth. Rural to urban migration has played an important role in growth and has resulted in structural change of an economy. Structural change can be defined as change in the sectors of an economy over a time series. Specific to this The Lewis model demonstrates when underdeveloped economies convert their traditional economic sectors in rural areas into a modern, industrialised urban areas (Todaro, Smith; 2009). The Lewis model is one of two approaches that are based on the structural transformation. The model is based on two sectors and the relationship between the supply and transition of labour and its resulting impact upon development. The Harris-Todaro model focuses upon incomes between rural and urban areas and how they vary, it states that income levels are seen as higher in urban areas which influence migration to the area. Principally, the essence of both models link back to the development of urban areas, and the migration process, however, the assumptions of each model varies which impacts upon the results. The Lewis model, also known as the two or dual sector model, was developed by Nobel Laureate W. Arthur Lewis in the 1950s, nevertheless it is still used 60 years on. There are two main aims of the model firstly the transfer of labour, and secondly the impact upon the modern sector through growth of output and employment. One of the two sectors discussed in this model is the traditional agricultural sector in rural areas. The second sector is the industrialised urban area. Labour supply extracted from the traditional agricultural rural area does not affect its output as it is transferred to the modern industrial urban sector. The marginal product of labour is defined as the change in productivity that occurs from a one unit change in labour. The reason as to why output is not affected is due to the marginal productivity of labour being zero due to the overpopulation, which is a key characteristic in the rural area, and thus leading to a surplus of labour. Urban industrialised sector i s characterised by high productivity. The diagram below of the Lewis model illustrates the impact of the transfer of labour on both the traditional and modern sector. I will first discuss the traditional sector diagram (1a and 1b). Diagram 1a demonstrates that as quantity of labour increases total food production increases. This is until a certain point, where it then stabilises and levels off, due to restrictions at this level by labour. Using the total product curve we can then derive the marginal product of labour and the average product of labour. The dashed line passing through both diagrams illustrate the level of labour accessible in the rural economy. Firstly, as discussed previously due to surplus of labour, the diminishing marginal product of labour is zero which is reflected in the diagram. The average product (APLA) of labour is calculated by using the total product of food and dividing it by the labour available, thus giving us the a level of WA food per person. WA represents the real wage income earned in t he agricultural sector. The surplus labour which is transferred to the modern sector can be illustrated by the red arrows in diagram 1b. The next set of diagrams (2a and 2b) focuses on the modern industrial sector. Diagram 2a illustrates the total product of manufacturing curves for three different levels of labour. The total product of manufacturing is a function of capital (KM) and labour (L). The marginal product of labour can be interpreted as demand curves for labour. WA represents average real income in the traditional sector in 1b, whereas WM is the real income in the modern sector. The supply curve in the diagram is completely horizontal, this suggests a perfectly elastic supply, and this would link well with the surplus labour (shown in figure 1b). The demand curve for labour is negatively sloping this is due to declining marginal product influencing. This is highly likely due to the assumption of the modern sector to employ until marginal physical product is equal to real wage (L1 on diagram). The KM curves also represents demand, it rises from KM1 to KM2 and KM3. This is due to the reinvestment assumption t hat the Lewis model makes, increasing capital stock and in the long run economic growth. The process then continues up until a point where the surplus labour is transferred to modern industrialised sector. After the self sustaining growth process has stopped, labour from the rural sector will only be transferred at a higher cost of lost food production. One of the key changes is that the marginal product of labour is no longer zero in the rural sector. The structural shift of the rural economic reliance to the urban industrial sector is complete. An essential idea to consider before discuss the next model is that rural to urban migration has become extremely high, this could affect the probability of employment opportunities and also the impact upon social services of the developing urban area. A model which can explain this relationship between rural urban migration and rising unemployment is the Harris Todaro model. The model states that income is the primary influence the decision making process of migrants, and that they do not consider the difference between expected and actual income they might receive. If the potential income earned in the urban sector is more than expected income in the rural agricultural sector, the higher income would draw the workers to migrate from rural to urban. This would suggest that the only reason for migration is to get higher paid jobs. This process should indeed result in the income difference narrowing due to the interactions of supply and demand. However, the likelihood of this occurrin g is small, due to high unemployment in urban areas many people have to settle for jobs in the low paid informal sector. Skilled labour and labour with a greater level of education are likely to get better jobs for a good pay in the formal sector. However, it is never guaranteed and many could be over skilled for the job they are doing. Time horizons can be an important factor to consider when making rational decisions. If a worker only considers the current time frame it is highly unlikely that he or she would enter employment at a higher wage than in rural areas. However, the probability would increase if the future likelihood of getting a job is considered. The worker may plan that initially pay is low and the job is fairly low skilled, nevertheless, in time skills improve, connections develop and the job is likely to improve and the probability of a higher income also increases. In this model urban incomes would have to be equated in order for migration from rural to urban to be seen as unbeneficial. Expected income considers two factors; wages and unemployment. If wages in urban areas are higher than rural, the unemployment rate would have to be in accordance to the percentage difference in income. However, there are seen to be more benefits than income in the urban areas, therefore even though unemployment rate may be chronically high people still do attempt to migrate for better quality of life. The diagram above includes two main sectors; agriculture in the rural area and manufacturing in the urban area. The line AA represents labour demand for the agricultural sector and MM for the manufacturing sector. Total labour force is on the horizontal axis from OA to OM. The equilibrium wage is thus at the point where the AA and MM curves cross, E on the diagram. However, if wages in the manufacturing industry is set higher than agriculture at a level WM, the difference from the equilibrium (E) wage rate for agriculture (WA*) is high. When considering the impact of this upon labour it would mean less labour would be able to find jobs in the urban area. From LM to OM to be exact, on the diagram highlights urban area employment, thus leaving OA to LM as rural labour or even unemployment at wage WA**. Nevertheless, many people still chance for employment at a higher wage and migrate to urban areas. The line qq shows the line of indifference between rural and urban sectors for jobs. Th is is calculated by using a formula which shows probability of the likelihood of finding a job in the urban area and the rate at which it is able to equate agricultural income with potential income earned in urban areas (Todaro, Smith; 2009). This results in the equilibrium shifting to point F on the diagram, this lowers the wage from WM bar to WA. However, the labour gap is not reduced, OA to LM is still employment in rural areas or unemployment; as urban labour is LM OM. Thus illustrating the reason as to why unemployment in urban area occurs, people risk migrating in order to achieve a higher wage. However, the probability of finding a well paid job in the formal sector is very low. Describe both models in detail, with graphs Compare and contrast the assumptions and how they shape the outcomes.

Essay --

In the short story â€Å"Going to Meet the Man† by James Baldwin, Baldwin pushes the boundaries of racism and cultural repression. Jesse is white deputy sheriff who is sexually frustrated in bed with his wife Grace when he cannot develop an erection. For the first time he is suffering from insomnia and he begins to have flashbacks of the many interactions he has had with the black race. He starts to tell his wife of an earlier incident he had with a group of black protesters who would not stop singing. While the sheriffs are arresting the protesters, Jesse takes the â€Å"ring leader† of the group to a cell and beats him repeatedly with a prod in order to force him to stop the singing. As Jesse heads for the cell door, the boy reminds him of his pass when he once disrespected his auntie, Old Julia. This channels the many flashbacks he has to understand why he sexually repressed with violence and has grown to be racist. Baldwin conveys that violence and pain manifests th emselves in each generation because families teach them through household values and societal expectations. Jesse first lesson was his childhood friend, Otis. Jesse was not always violent towards the black race as he was in the jail cell with that black, battered body. As a child, he looked beyond race and his black friend Otis was just a boy to him: â€Å"He had a black friend, eight, who lived nearby. His name was Otis. They wrestled together in the dirt† (1756). Baldwin shows that Jesse and Otis are simply friends. Jesse plays with Otis because he did not care about his race but he just wanted to be a kid and have fun. Shortly following the friendly interaction with Otis, Jesse started his transition from child to the chauvinistic man he is now. Soon young Jesse realizes that... ...oked to them for courage now† (1754). Jesse’s prior experiences provoke him to believe that through violence towards the colored race was the epitome of being a man. It was because of his father and his friends, which forms the racial tension he has with colored race and the moral value of white supremacy. Overall, racism and social repression is a pending issue that has yet to cease. Racism has become the face of American history because of the belief structure and family morals built on hatred of one another. This leads to societies broken and has become the most common setback of modern society. The use of violence and pain has manifest through generations, teaching whites to be superior and allowing blacks to be use to common oppression. If the world fails to reprimand the issue, generations will grow to believe the unrealistic morals that have shaped America.

Classification Essay - Exercise Partners -- Classification Essays

Classification of Exercise Partners Every woman's magazine I've ever read gives its readers advice on exercising, and one of the most common tips I've seen is to find a partner to exercise with. In my experience, however, having an exercise partner is not a good idea. I have encountered five types of exercise partners, and I have concluded that it is definitely best to exercise alone. The Drill Sergeant My ex-boyfriend represents the Drill Sergeant. He is one of those people whose motto is "No pain, no gain." Of course, he assumes that everyone else follows this decree as well. He will try to push you to the limit every time you exercise with him, and can become nasty if you give up before he thinks you should. I refused to exercise with him after a few bad jogging experiences. I had expected that we would start slowly and only go for a short run. What a mistake! I was faltering after only a mile or so, and my ex took it personally that I wanted to stop. He started yelling things like "What are you? A quitter?" and, "You can't give up already!" I believe he was trying to inspire me, but his remarks had the reverse effect. I gave up immediately. The Drill Sergeant feels he must whip you into shape. He probably would, if you could stand being around him for that long. The Coach The Coach is closely related to the Drill Sergeant but has a gentler approach. The Coach feels you need guidance to perform to your potential. My former roommate was the coach. She would cheer me on with phrases like, "You can do it!" and, "Just a little further!" Had I actually been on some sort of sports team with her as my coach, the comments would have been perfectly acceptable. They were meant to be words of encouragement, but they only ... ...e and didn't want to get out of bed early. On day four her ankle was bothering her. On day five she was coming down with a cold. By day six, I had given up on my sister and was striking out on my own once again. It is possible to exercise with Lazy Bones if you catch her at the right time. If and when you figure out what this time is, please let me know. I have yet to piece that puzzle together. Most people do not enjoy exercising. Why make it any less enjoyable by exercising with someone who will ultimately annoy you? All people are different, and with that comes different levels of physical fitness. It is nearly impossible to be on the exact level that someone else is at any given moment. When you are alone, you can set a pace comfortable for you. There are no outside pressures to worry about and no others to depend on. I have concluded it's the only way to go.

Presocratic Philosophy Essay

Although Aristotle’s statement is too slight to serve as a sure foundation for judgment, it seems more likely that Thales was arguing for the broader presence of life forces in the world than most people imagined, rather than that the real in its totality is alive. Anaximander Thales’ younger contemporary from Miletus, Anaximander, born toward the end of the seventh century B. C. E. , found the explanatory principle of things in what he called ‘‘the apeiron,’’ a word that might be translated as ‘‘the indefinite,’’ ‘‘the boundless,’’ or both. This opens up the possibility that the apeiron is both immeasurably large in its temporal and physical extent and also qualitatively indefinite in that it is without measurable inner boundaries. The apeiron is further described, according to Aristotle, as being ‘‘without beginning,’’ ‘‘surrounding all things,’’ ‘‘steering all things,’’ ‘‘divine,’’ ‘‘immortal,’’ and ‘‘indestructible. ’’Some have inferred that Anaximander’s barely concealed purpose was Western philosophy’s first attempt at demythologization. Equally striking is Anaximander’s description of the universe as a closed, concentric system, the outer spheres of which, by their everlasting motion, account for the stability of our earth, a drum-shaped body held everlastingly in a state of equipoise at the center. Whatever the inadequacy in certain details (the stars are placed nearer to the earth than the moon), with Anaximander the science of cosmological speculation took a giant step forward. As far as life on earth is concerned, Anaximander offered another striking hypothesis. The first living things, according to him, were ‘‘born in moisture, enclosed in thorny barks’’ (like sea urchins), and ‘‘as their age increased, they came forth onto the drier part’’ (as phrased by Aetius [first to second century C. E. ]). Pythagoras Although we know that Pythagoras was a historical figure, it is difficult to determine exactly what Pythagoras himself taught. He wrote nothing, and the ideas of other members of the community were attributed to him as a sign of respect and as a way of lending weight to the ideas. Plato and Aristotle rarely assign ideas to Pythagoras himself, although Pythagorean ideas seem to have influenced Plato’s philosophy. Pythagoreans asserted that number is the first principle of all things. They were the first systematic developers of mathematics in the West and discovered that natural events could be described in mathematical terms, especially as ratios. To the Pythagoreans, the â€Å"principle of number† accounted for everything. Number was a real thing. Somehow, numbers existed in space, not just as mental constructs. According to Pythagorean doctrine, the entire universe is an ordered whole consisting of harmonies of contrasting elements. The Greek for â€Å"ordered whole† is cosmos. The Pythagoreans were the first philosophers to use the term cosmos to refer to the universe in this way. The â€Å"celestial music of the spheres† is the hauntingly beautiful phrase the Pythagoreans coined to describe the sound of the heavens as they rotate according to cosmic number and harmony. Xenophanes A fourth Ionian philosopher, Xenophanes of Colophon, born around 580 B. C. E. , s the first we know of to overtly attack the anthropomorphism of popular religious belief, in a series of brilliant reductio ad absurdum arguments. His own view has been understood, ever since Aristotle, as pantheistic. Xenophanes was also the first philosopher we know of to ask what degree of knowledge is attainable. In B34 we read: ‘‘the clear and certain truth no man has seen, nor will there be anyone who knows about the gods and what I say about all things. ’’ Several ancient critics took this to be an indication of Xenophanes’ total scepticism. On this basis of moderate empiricism and scepticism, Xenophanes offered a number of opinions of varying plausibility about the natural world, one of which—a strong, evolutionary interpretation of the discovery on various islands of fossils of marine animals—is enough to constitute a major claim to fame in natural philosophy and ranks with his other significant steps in epistemology (the theory of knowledge dealing with what we know, how we know it, and how reliable our knowledge is), logic (the study of rational inquiry and argumentation), and natural theology (the attempt to understand God from natural knowledge). Heraclitus One of the most important and enigmatic of the Presocratics, Heraclitus (fl . 500 b. c. e. , d. 510–480 b. c. e. ), said that ignorance is bound to result when we try to understand the cosmos when we do not even comprehend the basic structure of the human psyche (soul) and its relationship to the Logos. The complex Greek word logos is intriguing. It could and at times did mean all of the following: â€Å"intelligence,† â€Å"speech,† â€Å"discourse,† â€Å"thought,† â€Å"reason,† â€Å"word,† â€Å"meaning,† â€Å"study of,† â€Å"the record of,† â€Å"the science of,† â€Å"the fundamental principles of,† â€Å"the basic principles and procedures of a particular discipline,† â€Å"those features of a thing that make it intelligible to us,† and â€Å"the rationale for a thing. † The Heraclitean capital L Logos is like God, only without the anthropomorphizing (humanizing) of the earlier philosophers and poets who attributed human qualities to the gods. According to Heraclitus’s impersonal view of God, the Logos is a process, not an entity. As such, the Logos is unconcerned with individuals and human affairs, in much the same way that gravity affects us but is unconcerned with us. More radically yet, Heraclitus asserted that even though things appear to remain the same, â€Å"Change alone is unchanging. † Traditionally, it has been held that Heraclitus went so far as to claim that everything is always changing all the time. But whether he really meant that everything is always changing, or that individual things are held together by energy (change), remains unclear. Anaximenes Anaximander’s younger contemporary, Anaximenes, who lived during the sixth century B. C. E. appears to revert to a prior and less sophisticated vision in claiming that the earth, far from being a drum-shaped body held in equipoise at the center, is flat and ‘‘rides on,’’ supported by air. The same might be said of his contention that the basic, ‘‘divine’’ principle of things was not some indefinite entity but something very much part of our experience; namely, air. Anaximenes’ view would also no doubt have seemed to be corroborated by the fact that the universe, commonly understood as a living thing and hence needing a soul to vivify it, possessed in air that very ‘‘breath’’ that for most Greeks constituted the essence of such a soul. Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (fift h century b. c. e. ) radically transformed the early philosophers’ interest in cosmology, the study of the universe as a rationally ordered system (cosmos), into ontology, the study of being. By common agreement he was the giant among the pre-Socratics. According to Parmenides, none of his predecessors adequately accounted for the process by which the one basic stuff of the cosmos changes into the many individual things we experience every day. In his search for a solution to the problem of â€Å"the one and the many,† Parmenides turned to a reasoned analysis of the process of change itself. According to Parmenides, all sensations occur in the realm of appearance. This means that reality cannot be apprehended by the senses. Change and variety (the many) are only appearances; they are not real. If this is true, then our most commonly held beliefs about reality are mere opinions. The senses cannot recognize â€Å"what is,† much less can they discover—observe—it, ever. In other words, whatever we see, touch, taste, hear, or smell is not real, does not exist. Perhaps most unsettling of all, Parmenides â€Å"solved† the problem of the appearance of change by concluding—in direct opposition to Heraclitus’s insistence that everything is always changing—that the very concept of change is self-contradictory. What we think of as change is merely an illusion. The logic runs as follows: â€Å"Change† equals transformation into something else. When a thing becomes â€Å"something else,† it becomes what it is not. But since it is impossible for â€Å"nothing† (what is not) to exist, there is no â€Å"nothing† into which the old thing can disappear. (There is no â€Å"no place† for the thing to go into. ) Therefore, change cannot occur. Empedocles posited, against Parmenides, change and plurality as features of reality, but affirmed the eternality of anything that is real; the sphere-like nature of the real when looked at as a totality and the fact that the real is a plenum, containing no ‘‘nothingness’’ or ‘‘emptiness’’. Anaxagoras likewise posited change, plurality, and divisibility as features of reality, yet also affirmed the eternality of the real (understood by him as an eternally existent ‘‘mixture’’ of the ‘‘seeds’’ of the things currently constituting the world, rather than the eternal combinings and recombinings, according to certain ratios of admixture, of four eternally existent ‘‘roots’’ or elemental masses). Leucippus Leucippus of Miletus (c. fi ft h century b. c. e. ) and Democritus of Abdera (c. 460–370 b. . e. ) argued that reality consists entirely of empty space and ultimately simple entities that combine to form objects. T is materialistic view is known as atomism. Leucippus is credited with being the originator of atomism and Democritus with developing it. Rather than reject Parmenides’ assertion that change is an illusion, Leucippus argued that reality consists of many discrete â€Å"ones ,† or beings. Zeno Zeno, who was born early in the fifth century B. C. E. , was a friend and pupil of Parmenides. In his famous paradoxes he attempted to show by a series of reductio ad absurdum arguments, of which the best known is perhaps that of Achilles and the tortoise, the self-contradictory consequences of maintaining that there is a real plurality of things or that motion or place are real. The prima facie brilliance of many of the arguments continues to impress people, though it soon becomes clear that the paradoxes turn largely on the failure or unwillingness of Zeno, like so many Pythagoreans of the day, to distinguish between the concepts of physical and geometrical space. Zeno’s way of constructing the problem makes it seem that his primary object is to defame pluralists by attacking the logical possibility of explaining how there can be motion in the world. Gorgias Gorgias has achieved fame for the stress he laid upon the art of persuasion (‘‘rhetoric’’), although whether he wrote the baffling On What Is Not as a serious piece of persuasive reasoning or as some sort of spoof of the Eleatic philosophy of Parmenides and others remains disputed. Its basic, and remarkable, claim is prima facie, that nothing in fact is (exists /is the case [esti] or is knowable or conceivable. Any exiguous plausibility that the arguments supporting this claim possess turns on our overlooking Gorgias’s failure, witting or unwitting, to distinguish carefully between knowing and thinking, along with his various uses of the verb ‘‘to be. ’’ If the failure was witting, the document can be seen as a skillful device for the spotting of fallacies as part of training in rhetoric and basic reasoning. If it was unwitting, Gorgias still emerges as what he was claimed to be—a deft rhetorical wordsmith on any topic proposed to him. Protagoras Perhaps the greatest of the Sophists was Protagoras of Abdera (481– 411 b. c. e. ). Protagoras was an archetypal Sophist: an active traveler and first-rate observer of other cultures who noted that although there are a variety of customs and beliefs, each culture believes unquestioningly that its own ways are right—and roundly condemns (or at least criticizes) views that differ from its own. Based on his observations and travels, Protagoras concluded that morals are nothing more than the social traditions, or mores, of a society or group. The details of Protagoras’s beliefs remain disputed. When he said, for example, that ‘‘anthropos [humanity] is a/the measure for all things, of things that are, that they are, and of things that are not, that they are not,’’ it is unclear whether he is talking about one person or the sum total of persons; about ‘‘a’’ measure or ‘‘the’’ measure (there is no definite article in Greek); or about existence or states of affairs or both. The Platonic reading in the Theaetetus, which takes ‘‘anthropos’’ as generic and ‘‘measure’’ as exclusive, led to the assertion that the logical consequence was total (and absurd) relativism. ______________________________ References: The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. Richard H. Popkin. Columbia University Press. 1999. Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy. 7th ed. Douglas J. Soccio. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2010.

Production and Operation Managemne, Case of Mcdonald

This paper aims at examining the use of teams in production and operations management. Boone and Kurtz (2011) reported that ’’the purpose of production and operations management is to oversee the application of people and machinery in converting materials into finished goods and services’’ (p. 356). Dr. Deming has developed fourteen principles for production and operations management, originally presented in Out of the Crisis, that serve as management guidelines. Organizations that follow that guideline should have more efficient workplace, higher profits, and increased productivity. According to Zupanc ( 2007) ,Dr. Deming’s principles are: Create constancy of purpose, Adopt the new philosophy, cease inspection and require evidence,End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag, Improve constantly and forever the system and of production and service , Institute training on the job , Institute leadership , Drive out fear , Break down barriers between departments , Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force , Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor , Remove barriers to pride of workmanship , Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement, Everyone must undergo transformation continuously and indefinitely. (Total Quality Management, para. 5). This paper will focus on Dr. Deming 9th principle. He has advised his client to:’’ break down barriers between departments and staff area’’. In other words, he is encouraging organizations to use team work in production and operations management. It is very important for a company to use team work. Most organizations divide themselves to several departments so that work would end faster upon splitting up and distributing to several departments. This takes the organization to better management in quality and also other profit with better planning. Thesis Statement: In discussing the use of team work in production and operation management, we shall start by describing a major global corporation ( McDonald) , next we shall describe its production or operations management, then we will describe and evaluate the company’s use of teams in production and operations management, and finally we will analyze and evaluate the company’s ability to adjust to a major economic, environmental, or natural crisis (such as the real estate crash, financial crisis, nuclear meltdown, hurricane, flood, oil spill, etc. and communicate effectively with their employees and customers about issues caused by the crisis 1. Describe a major global corporation: (1) a leading manufacturer or (2) a major retail or restaurant business. Describe the type of business, market share, financials, size, and global presence. McDonald's is the world's # 1 fast-food company by sales, with more than 32,500 restaurants serving burgers and fries in 117 countries. (McDonald Corporation , 2009). Svoboda (2007) argued that, in 1991, McDonald owned $13 billion of the $93 billion fast food industry. The popular chain is well-known for its Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, and Chicken McNuggets. Most of the outlets are free-standing units offering dine-in and drive-through service, but McDonald's also has many eateries located in airports, retail areas, and other high-traffic locations. About 80% of the restaurants are run by franchisees or affiliates (p. 1). The sales increased by 5% in 2010, Operating income grew by 9% and the company is continuing to gain market share around the world. In addition, McDonald has returned $5. 1 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends paid, and has provided a 27% return to investors for the year, ranking it third among the companies comprising the Dow Jones Industrial Average (McDonald, 2011). 2. Describe the company’s production or operations management. Operations management can be defined as the planning, scheduling, and control of the activities that transform inputs into finished goods and services (Sloan School of management, 2009). Production and operation managers oversee the work of people and machinery to convert inputs into finished goods and services. Boone and Kurtz (2011) argued that operation managers execute four majors task, first they plan the overall production process, next they determine the best layout for the firm facilities, then they implement the production plan, and finally they control the manufacturing process to maintain the highest possible quality( p . 365). The following paragraphs will have a look at how McDonald executes those four major operation management tasks. PRODUCT PLANNING: Production planning begins by choosing what goods or services to offer to customers. The main operation In McDonald’s Restaurants is product planning. In order to meet the needs of the customers, that are constantly changing, McDonald has to keep on adding new products to its menu. For instance, the increasing preference of consumers towards healthy food made the restaurant add healthier food items to its menu. Similarly it has to add new products for different seasons, for examples hot coffee in winter and milkshakes in summer. LAYOUT DESIGN: Boone and Kurtz (2011) believed that an efficient facility layout can reduce material handling, decrease cost, and improve product flow through facility layout (p. 366). In McDonalds Restaurant layout designing is a very important operation. A proper layout of the equipment in the kitchen is very essential to ensure preparation of quality food in less time. It also designs its layout keeping in mind the health and safety issues. McDonald layoutis design in such a way that needs of supervision is minimised. McDonalds also sets its premises in proper manner to handle any number of customers easily. The building design is standard worldwide but it may be havesome difference in size or in exterior according to the location. It enables them tosave time, satisfy their customers, comfortable environment for both employees and customers. McDonalds uses the same interior pattern as it’s used internationally. Itmay vary according to the premises size (Gondal, 2008, p. 8). IMPLEMENTING THE PRODUCTION PLAN: After planning the production process and determining the best layout. Organization starts implementing the production plan. According to Boone and Kurtz (2011), this activity involves; selecting the best suppliers, and controlling inventor (p. 367). Selecting best suppliers: When an organization has decided what input to purchase, it must choose the best vendors for it needs. Their choice of a vendor will be based on the quality, the price, the delivery, and the services offered. The McDonald’s supply chain is a complex web of direct and indirect suppliers. It manages this complex system by working with direct suppliers who share their values and their vision for sustainable supply. McDonald holds them to clear standards for quality, safety, efficiency and sustainability (McDonald, 2010). It expects them to extend those requirements to their suppliers. McDonald also partner with them to identify, understand and address industry-wide sustainability challenges and achieve continuous improvement. Svoboda (2007) argued that, McDonald often holds seminars and conference for suppliers to discuss their need (p. 3). Overall, McDonald’s and its suppliers are collectively focused on three responsibility areas: ethical, environmental and economic. Controlling Inventory According to Boone and Kurtz (2011) , production and operations managers’ responsibility for inventory control require them to balance the need to keep stocks on hand to meet the demand against the costs of carrying inventory ( p . 369 ). At McDonalds the inventory is managed on the basis of First-In-First-Out basis. This is because most of the inventory consists of perishable items. Therefore delivery of inventory happens twice or more times a week depending on the business of the restaurant. Moreover inventory is stored in freezer with proper packaging so as to ensure freshness of the food items. All this activities comes under inventory management of the organisation. According to Kennon (2007), between 1999 and 2000, McDonald's had an inventory turn rate of 96. 1549, incredible for even a high-turn industry such as fast food. This means that every 3. 79 days, McDonald's goes through its entire inventory. By tying up as little capital as possible in inventory, McDonald's can use the cash on hand to open more stores, increase its advertising budget, or buy back shares. It eases the strain on cash flow considerably, allowing management much more flexibility in planning for the long term (McDonald vs. Wendy’s, para. ) Just in time system seek to eliminate anything that does not add value in operations activities by providing the right part at the right place at just the right time (Boone and Kurtz, 2011, p. 370). McDonald's is also uses JIT system in the sense that it doesn’t begin to cook its orders until a customer has placed a specific order. CONTROLLING THE PRODUCTION PROCESS: The final task of production and operation management is controlling the production process to maintain the highest possible quality. McDonalds put an emphasis on themaintenance of the product quality, the human resources used within the organization, its location and layout designs. They train their employees of all departments regarding their job, so they can handletheir customer and work as well which helps to maintain their status quotas (Gondal, 2008, p. 10). McDonalds is among the companies which are partially involved in the production of goods and services, so a proper maintenance system within the organization strengthens the goodwill and reputation. In McDonalds restaurant , the operations manager develop and establishes the process of cooking food items so that food is prepared using that method which helps them to maintain the speed and the quality of the food. Moreover it also designs processes so that the health, safety and hygiene issues are taken into consideration. Also the managers keep on introducing latest equipment’s with the advancement of technology so as to bring pace, perfection and quality in the product. Overall operations management is very important for any organisations; it contributes to the strategy and therefore helps the organisation to gain competitive advantage. 3. Describe and evaluate the company’s use of teams in production and operations management. A team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, approach, and set of performance goal (Boone and Kurtz, 2011, p. 329). A good team is said to be one where the whole of the team is greater than the sum of its parts; and this signifies that the team members are working in teamwork with each other. Many teams have worked together and the output has been lesser than teams made up of less intelligent minds. So while a team does move towards a common goal, how well it achieves this goal depends solely on how well the team members work in collaboration with each other. According to Goldman (2008), McDonald’s owes is success to its team functionality rather than the efforts of one individual. McDonald’s does not have very highly integrated teamwork, but they would be unable to deliver their products and service without sufficient team unity and cooperation (Observation of Leadership, para . 5). Team members have one area that they focus on during their shift. If they leave their post or are not productive, other line members will not be able to accomplish their jobs and the production line will suffer. For example, when a customer enters the restaurant places an order with the cashier, the later inputs the order into the computer and the information is displayed in the kitchen at the sandwich and grill stations. The grill worker prepares the meat and then places the burger on a bun. The sandwich maker then assembles the sandwich according to the type of sandwich and any additional requests the customer has. If the sandwich maker leaves his post, another worker has to cover for him or the entire product delivery process shuts down. Without everyone working together and having sufficient motivation to provide good and quick quality service, all members of the team fail. As a result of one person losing motivation or failing to adequately perform his duties, customers may complain and business can be lost. Even though most employees are trained to perform multiple tasks at various stations, they are not usually able to perform all of these tasks simultaneously. 4. Analyze and evaluate the company’s ability to adjust to a major economic, environmental, or natural crisis (such as the real estate crash, financial crisis, nuclear meltdown, hurricane, flood, oil spill, etc. ) and communicate effectively with their employees and customers about issues caused by the crisis. Every major corporation faces external and internal challenges. External challenges faced by organizations can be economic, environmental, or natural. We will take a look at the environmental challenges that McDonald has encountered and how it has been able to find solutions to those challenges. Svoboda (2007) argued that, in 1989 McDonald was facing environmental protests in the form of demonstrations, letters, and customers mailing their polystyrene clamshells back to the company. In order to take care of those protest McDonald stepped up its recycling effort by creating a joint task force with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) (p . 5 ). Developing a strong company-wide environmental policy, declaring that McDonald is committed to protecting the environment for future generation, was one of the first result of the task force. McDonald has also been active in educating its customers about the company’s environmental activities and positions. There are brochures available in restaurants informing customers about McDonald position on such as ozone depletion, the rain forest, and packaging. McDonald has realized that in order to achieve its waste reduction goals, it must collaborate with its suppliers. In order to promote collaboration McDonald has developed an annual environmental conference intended to train suppliers and has included environmental issues in its annual supplier reviews and evaluations. According to Svoboda the following initiatives were proposed by the task force and had since been followed by McDonald: Source Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, and composting. Section 40196 of the California Public Resources Code defines source reduction as any action which causes a net reduction in the generation of solid waste. â€Å"Source Reduction† includes, but is not limited to, reducing the use of non-recyclable materials, replacing disposable materials and products with reusable materials and products, reducing packaging, reducing the amount of yard wastes generated, establishing garbage rate structures with incentives to reduce the amount of wastes that generators produce, and increasing the efficiency of the use of paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic, and other materials (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, 2010 ) . Over the past twenty years , McDonald has made substantial progress in its source reduction efforts. Svoboda (2007) believed that, McDonald’s â€Å"average meal† in the 1970s — a Big Mac, fries and a shake — required 46 grams of packaging. Today, it requires 25 grams, a 46 percent reduction. McDonald’s has also reduced the weight of packaging in its sandwich wraps, hot cups, and napkins, removed corrugated dividers in some shipping cases, and switched to bulk containers wherever possible ( p . 4 ) . Re-use is using an object or material again, either for its original purpose or for a similar purpose, without significantly altering the physical form of the object or material (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, 2010). McDonald reuse options include the reuse of plastic (rather than cardboard) disposables, shipping trays for bakery items, and plastic shipping pallets that last at least three times longer than wooden pallets (Svoboda, 2007, p. 5). Recycling can be defined as using waste as material to manufacture a new product. Recycling involves altering the physical form of an object or material and making a new object from the altered material. McDonald’s tries to use recycled materials whenever possible . According to Svoboda (2007), in April 1990, McDonald’s announced the McRecycle Program, a commitment to spend $100 million annually on the use of recycled materials, especially in the building and renovation of its restaurants. In 1991, it surpassed its goal, purchasing more than $200 million of recycled materials (p. 6). McDonald’s continued to work with suppliers to develop packaging that was consistent with curbside recycling programs, to support the recycling of material that leaves the restaurant via takeout orders. Composting is the biological decomposition of organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, brush, and food waste into a soil amendment. Almost 50 percent of McDonald’s waste stream consists of paper packaging and food organics that could be composted. McDonald’s is reviewing the compostability of its packaging and studying materials such as the coatings used on its paper-based packaging to determine if they impair compostability. Where possible, it will replace materials that are not compostable with materials designed for compostability. Conclusion This paper has discussed the use of team work in production and operation management, we started by describing a major global corporation ( McDonald) , next described Macdonald’s production or operations management, then described and evaluate the MacDonald’s use of teams in production and operations management, and finally we analyzed and evaluate the McDonald’s ability to adjust to a major economic, environmental, or natural crisis (such as the real estate crash, financial crisis, nuclear meltdown, hurricane, flood, oil spill, etc. ) and communicate effectively with their employees and customers about issues caused by the crisis. References Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery. (2010). Waste Prevention Terms and Definitions. Retrieved from Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery website: http://www. calrecycle. ca. gov/reducewaste/define. htm Goldman. E. (2008, November) . Observation of Leadership ; Organizational Behavior at McDonald’s. Retrieved from: http://www. ericgoldman. name/non-technical/28-leadership/34-observation-of-leadership-a-organizational-behavior-at-mcdonalds Gondal. N. (2008). Operation Management Strategies ; Total Quality Management Strategies . Retrieved from: http://www. scribd. com/doc/17407126/POM-REPORT-on-McDonalds McDonald Corporation. ( n. d. ) . McDonald’s 2010 annual report . Retrieved from http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com/etc/medialib/aboutMcDonalds/investor_relations3. Par. 56096. File. at/2010%20Annual%20Report%20(print). pdf Kennon . J. (2007). McDonald's vs. Wendy's – A Case Study in Inventory on the Balance Sheet . Retrieved from: http://beginnersinvest. about. com/od/analyzingabalancesheet/a/mcdonalds-vs-wendys. htm Zupanc . H . ( 2007 ) . Total quality management. Retrieved from: http://www. qualitysolutions. ca/tqm. htm Sloan school of Management. ( n . d . ) What is operation management? Retrieved from the Sloan school of management website :http://sloan. mit. edu/omg/om-definition. php Svoboda . S . ( 2007 ). McDonald’s environment strategy. Retrieved from: http://www. umich. edu/~nppcpub/resources/compendia/CORPpdfs/CORPcaseA. pdf

Character Sketch of George Essay

George would not be himself if he didn’t have Lennie. George can be describe as a responsible and caring person as well as a dreamer. George is responsible not only for himself, but also for Lennie â€Å"I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off by yourself, even if she is dead.† (Steinbeck, 13); Lennie said excitedly â€Å"But not us! An’ why? Because†¦ because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.† (Steinbeck, 14) George promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would take care of Lennie no matter what happened, even if he was responsible for all of Lennie’s trouble and also for Lennie’s death. He would never abandon him despite of his mental impairment even though he had the chance to. As well as George cares a lot about Lennie and even for the other guys of the ranch. George calmly admits, â€Å"I been mean ain’t I?† (Steinbeck, 12); George trying to pick up his words â€Å" Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.†(what to put) Steinbeck writes â€Å"And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head.† (Steinbeck, 106) George knows when he had hurt(s) Lennie’s feelings. He killed Lennie because he doesn’t want Lennie to suffer in this world anymore, because he cares. It wasn’t the best thing that he could do but he thought that it would be easier for Lennie and himself. Furthermore, George and Lennie have a plan, to buy a house, a dream that that they can call their own. It’s still the American dream today. George said convincingly to Lennie â€Å"With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in bar room blowin’ our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us†¦(another line) We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with going’ to work and we’ll build up around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof – Nuts!† (Steinbeck, 14) George and Lennie planned what they wanted to have a long time ago, but Lennie wanted to hear it all over again. They dreamt of owning â€Å"an acre of land and a shack† to call their own. It seemed possible when they started working in the Ranch with Candy also participating, but after Lennie died, George would not have Lennie to make him all excited about their dream. And there’s no point of achieving it without Lennie because this dream made their friendship tight, made them become closer to each other, and made them think that they have a future. If Lennie wasn’t part of George’s life then George wouldn’t have a future, he’d just go to town and blow his jack each month like all the other bindle stiffs around. Often men’s plan goes awry, we should expect the unexpected.

Aurora- Light of Mystery

Aurora - Mysterious Light text box: This shuttle image shows the characteristic oval shape of Aurora. What is my aurora? Aurora or aurora is the emission of the upper atmosphere generated by the high latitudes of the two hemispheres. The northern hemisphere aurora is called aurora and the southern hemisphere aurora is called aurora. Aurora (Latin is dawn) is a beautifully magical light that you can see in the darkness of the polar sky. Aurora borealis is one of the most mysterious and interesting phenomena in nature and has been fascinated by Scandinavian tourists and locals from ancient Vikings. Watching a spectacular light show or discovering the aurora is only the beginning of your outstanding journey. For thousands of years European cuisine masterpieces have captivated travelers. From traditional cultural cuisine to contemporary cuisine specialties, it is a worthwhile travel to visit these delicious destinations. Bring a healthy appetite and enjoy a wonderful taste, sight and sce nt on this rich cooking trip Aurora is Aurora or Antarctica. These are ghostly lights that appear in the sky of the earth. These are extremes facing the earth. In the north, these auroras are called auroras. In the South these auroras are called aurora aurora. Amp; nbsp; These occur when there is a magnetic field outside the Earth 's atmosphere. After that, the solar wind attacked the magnetic field and released these aurora to the earth's south north pole. The color of the aurora depends only on the height of most of the collision of the streetlight and the neon sign emits light according to the amount of gas of the subject. If these auroral lights are about 300 kilometers tall they may turn red. This is very rare, but it will happen when the solar wind is at its maximum. The most common colors are yellow and green. All of these lights are called by oxygen, but they are all at low altitudes