Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Source of Energy in Malaysia

Zaim Afiq Zaki Morad Public Utilities 325 – Prof. Rodney Stevenson Public Utility Paper Nuclear Power plant as a new alternative source of energy in Malaysia The first time the world was exposed the enormous potential power of nuclear was when the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs into Japan which effectively ended World War 2. Almost every country stood by and watched as the bombs made by the simple process of fission of two atomic particles produced enough power to destroy two big cities.The understanding of nuclear was not at a high level during the time but there have been experiments done by scientists all over the world and after witnessing the aftermath of nuclear bombs, along came the idea of applying the potential energy of nuclear for a better use. In 1954, the Soviet Union managed to produce the world first operating nuclear power plant in Obninsk and the plant was able to produce enough electricity to support a power grid. Two years after that, the British opened the world’s first commercial power station and the United States followed up with one of its own in Pennsylvania.As of the end of 2010, there are a total of 442 nuclear power plants spread over 30 countries, with the bulk of the nuclear reactors operating in United States, France, Japan and Russia. Although there have been many demonstrations and court cases asking for the proliferation of nuclear power plant and nuclear energy as a whole, a report done by the European Nuclear Society mentions that 65 new nuclear power plants are under construction in 16 countries. In Malaysia, the main source of energy comes in the form of natural gas and Malaysia has one of the biggest petroleum companies in Asia in the form of the Petronas company.The Petronas company is owned by the Malaysian government but is under the management and supervision of a private board with little interference by the Malaysia government. Other sources of energy in Malaysia comes from coal and f uel and Malaysia also depends on renewable energy sources through hydroelectric and solar powered energy. In recent years however, the supply of natural gas has been depleting and the government has been to find a better option in the form on renewable energy resources to try to spread the imminent case of osing fuel and gas as the main source of energy in the country. History of Public Utilities In Malaysia Before we move on to the main issue context of the article regarding the production of nuclear power plants in Malaysia as the best renewable energy option, we can get a bit more background to the history of public utilities in Malaysia and the current state of public utilities in the country. As of my knowledge, a large number of industries in the country are regulated by the government and can be out under the public utilities category.Most of these industries have monopolistic traits and are fully or partially controlled by the government of Malaysia. The reason why a large n umber of industries are under the monitoring of the government is probably due to the fact that Malaysia is a developing country and lack the experience to just allow some of the main public utility industries to float in the market. Some of the most common utility companies in Malaysia include Telekom Malaysia in the telecommunication industry, Tenaga Nasional in the electricity industry, Astro in the cable industry and Syabas in the water industry.Almost all of these companies are monopolistic and are partially or fully controlled by the government. The government subsidizes almost all the operational cost in these companies but regulates important matters such as pricing and coverage. The main concern with public utilities in Malaysia is the influence of politics in the industry. Since the government plays an important role in managing utilities, it is common for people to accuse the government of abusing its powers through the use of utilities.Some of the cases that have been br ought forward include bribing in some of the utility industries, government giving away contracts to cronies in order to get money for political campaigns, and also using public utility companies to try and influence elections. While some of these allegations might be true, I personally it is best for the government of Malaysia to keep being in charge of most of the utility companies because Malaysia is still lacking not just in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of education and thinking.Allowing for an industry such as electricity to just follow the market will probably result in catastrophe since the public will have no say at all to the way a company operates and are open to abuses by a small but influential number of executives in that company. While there are still a lot of improvements to be made by the Malaysian government, the way utilities are being handled regulated now works best for a developing country like Malaysia.Building Nuclear Power Plants in Malaysia Last year, the Malaysian government announced that two nuclear reactors will be built and is projected to be up and running by the year 2022 and that finalization on the project should be completed by 2015. The government said that the reason behind this decision is due to the lack of diversity in the country’s energy sources and the realization that natural gas and fuel will ultimately run out within the next few decades.No details have been given out as to how the project is going to be done with the most pressing question from the public being whether the government will hire outside help or use local minds to build nuclear power plants. Other issues being raised by the public include the factor of expense and safety, the latter coming from highly regarded leaders in the country who fear that Malaysia’s lack of experience and knowledge in the nuclear industry would mean that the government is taking a very huge risk in building nuclear power plants.Ever since the announ cement by the government to build two nuclear power plants in Malaysia, the public have been sporadically protesting the decision and not that many have come out to support the plan. This is perfectly understandable since Malaysia has no experience with nuclear materials, be it nuclear weapons or even nuclear experiments, and add to that the nearest country with nuclear power plant is Japan, which happened to suffer a nuclear meltdown just a few months ago.All the concerns being put forward by various are legitimate concerns but in my opinion the whole project would actually be good for the country and if takes a step back and just try to get different perspective to the case, a majority of the public would see that having nuclear power plant in our own backyard would be perfectly safe and this project could help propel Malaysia into joining the elite group that call themselves modern developed countries. Safety of Nuclear Power Plants To start off, many critics are leading with the argument that nuclear power plants are dangerous and could pose serious problems for Malaysia.It is a fact that nuclear power plants are open to accidents due to human error or even worse to natural disasters. We can point out to various incidents like the Chernobyl accident, the Three Mile Island disaster, and in recent memories the Fukushima accident. But these can be counted as isolated incidents due to unforeseen circumstances and given the fact that we have more than four hundred power plants running all over the world, these accidents represent little of the total amount of nuclear power plants that we have.The weak argument on the pro nuclear side is that accidents can happen anywhere and with anything. Some try to point out the BP oil spill disaster and the Exxon Valdez oil disaster as proof that accidents can happen to anything but what most people are worried about is that the effect of a nuclear disaster are definitely more costly in terms of human life and also in the e conomic perspective. However, while we cannot say for certain that we can ensure the safety of our nuclear power plants, we can set up regulations and laws that would make an accident less likely to happen.And since Malaysia is new in the industry, we stand to have the best chance of making solid regulations and laws. Given the fact that Malaysia has no prior experience in building and operating nuclear power plants, we can take this opportunity to choose the best of regulations that we can find from nuclear powerhouse like Japan or the United States. We can use the experiences of these countries in handling accidents and draw up our own safety plan that would bode well with the infrastructure and size of Malaysia.It will be expensive for us to gather information from other countries since the professionals of the nuclear industry will charge highly for the knowledge that they have attained but if the Malaysian government can show that it is serious in its plan to build nuclear plan ts and that the government is willing to pay for vital security information on nuclear technology, this will help to deflect most of the fears that the public has on nuclear power plants and maybe even instill some confidence as to the idea of Malaysia having her own nuclear power plants.Another main concern in terms of safety is terrorist threats. Nuclear power plants have been known by some as some sort of a pre-position weapons of mass destruction. Targeting missiles or jetliners on these power plants can definitely inflict unimaginable harm to any country. Some nuclear power plant engineers have pointed out that these nuclear facilities are built to withstand the impact of jetliners with the thick walls and various other measurements.But any decent educated person could guess that a fully loaded jetliner would at least crack some of the walls on the power plant and any explosion from the plane could cause fire and heat up the whole power plant. That is why countries have regulat ions regarding flying over nuclear power plant and if Malaysia is concern about it, we should start drawing up our own regulations regarding air traffic and making sure we put this regulation in place before we even start to think about building nuclear power plants. One other concern regarding the safety of nuclear power plant is on radiation and leaking of radiated nuclear materials.While studies done on radiation surrounding power plants have been inconclusive, with some suggesting that those surrounding nuclear will definitely get exposed to some sort of nuclear radiation while other studies suggest that no such effect is taking place, we can take precaution by installing the power plant at a strategic location that would ensure the safety of the public with or without any possibility of radiation. It is not reasonable to put a power plant in a place far from generators or cities but the government has found a few places of which are sparsely populated but are also safely locate d within range of electricity generators.Leaking of radiated materials is a topic that I did not get much chance to learn about but from what I hear, the public is worried that the lack of government supervision might result in radioactive waste being stolen by terrorist or even worse if they are accidentally lost by untrained employees. That might have sounded funny but only a few years back the government of Malaysia suffered a public embarrassment when the engines of two fighter jets were lost for a year before the engines were found in Uruguay of all places.But while this particular concern is perfectly legitimate and something that we should all ponder about, I am sure that the government can put certain procedures into place to ensure proper removal of radioactive waste are in place and we could even hire professionals from Japan or the United States to help out for a few years in order to gain the trust of the public before we go local with the handling of nuclear materials. Cost As A Major Concern Moving on, another major opposition of the power plant centers on the cost of trying to build a new power plant.The government of Malaysia has not put a specific cost on the table yet but approximate figures to build one power plant in the country would be at around 3. 2 billion U. S dollars with the cost of managing the plant coming up to a couple more billions of U. S dollars. It is definitely a costly amount especially for such a small country like Malaysia but the public has to remember that the product of nuclear energy could give us a return of more than five billion dollars.To add to that, the public will probably have to incur a lesser cost when it comes to paying electricity bills and the construction of two nuclear power plants would open up job opportunities for local employees. The accounting benefit of the project might be hard to be seen by the public but the total economic cost of building two new nuclear power plants will be massive to the Mal aysian economy. Another benefit that most of the Malaysian public cannot see is the fact that having nuclear power plant can actually propel Malaysia to become a leading industrialized nation in the region of Asia.One thing about nuclear power plants is that is symbolizes power. Similar to having an aircraft carrier demonstrates a country’s military prowess, having nuclear energy can demonstrate that a country is successful in the production section and that the economy of the country will continue to generate positive results in the future. Malaysia is still considered a developing country even with our massive economic growth and quality infrastructure but having nuclear power plant in our own backyard might give the impression that we are serious about moving forward and trying to be on par with nations such as China and France.Being the first country in South East Asia to have nuclear power plants will help Malaysia to move ahead of the group and put us under the impressi on that we have moved forward and not tagged along by some of the poor countries in that region. While some might argue that Malaysia can still move forward with the option of using hydroelectricity as a main source of renewable energy, they must also consider the strategic planning of building hydro electrical dams. Malaysia consists of two peninsular, one surrounded by natural habitat and rainforest and the other filled with cities containing high rise buildings.Malaysia has already built one of the largest concrete dams in the world to generate electricity through hydro-electric technology but what the public is not aware of is the fact that we do not have the spaces to build another large dam, especially since the peninsula most people are talking about is bustled with buildings. When the government made that policy decision to expand the country’s renewable energy to include nuclear energy, it did so at the consideration of the public. he decision made by the Malaysian g overnment can be considered as a social policy because in a way, they had to factor in all the needs of the public in terms of cost, location, distribution and many other factors and the decision they made was in the best interest of the public. Politics And Social Policies What the government has to worry about right now is trying to convince the public that there will be no politics when the nuclear power plant project starts and that massive regulation will be in order when the nuclear plants are up and running.One way of disseminating the problem is making sure due diligent is done before we even start to open bids to companies. When Malaysia announced that it was going to build two new nuclear power plants, companies from Russia, Japan and even China rushed to try and lobby the government of Malaysia into choosing their company as the preferred choice because they are well aware that Malaysia has no prior experience in building nuclear power plants and that the Malaysian govern ment will surely look for foreign help in the process of building those nuclear power plants.Since the public will have no knowledge of these foreign companies, what the government must do is ensure that highly qualified local companies must go through the process of thoroughly checking over foreign companies so that we will not get deceived in any way. This is an important issue because Malaysia has already suffered an unpleasant experience when trying to get their hands on navy submarines. It was a similar case of lacking experience in the industry and being lackadaisical when looking for companies to build us our first ever submarines.The cost was also in the billions and the government really got into trouble with the public when the first arriving submarine was not able to function and properly and had to be shipped back to France to be repaired at additional cost. While there was no evidence that the French company was trying to deceive anyone, it was clear that the company wa s not good at doing its job and that the Malaysian government could have saved a lot of money if it had gone through the proper process of picking out the best available company to do the job.With this experience in hand, the government should be more careful when doing business in uncommon territory and take all the precaution necessary in order to make sure it does not waste tax payers money again. Still on the social policy of the topic, one thing the government has to worry about is on who will get the most out of having nuclear power plant in the country. While the board in charge of overlooking the project has already identified some of the most strategic locations to be the bases of two huge nuclear power plants, what they did not mention was on who will be getting the most of the supply.The options given out by the government did not mention that some of the locations were nearer to residency areas, providing massive amount of electricity to some of the residential areas wou ld be a major boost to the real estate industry and will help increase the support from the public since they will be getting the most of having nuclear power plants. Another part of the option was located nearer to the industrial complex of the country, near enough to generate a large amount of power to help support factories and will probably help to increase production from those factories.This will generate the economy but the public will not get to see this even if the government can then create more jobs and reduce unemployment rate in the country. The government will be in a dilemma since both options differ in terms of public support and in terms of economic growth. But I mentioned before that having nuclear power plants will help boost Malaysia to join the developed countries category and if we really want to see that happen than the best option is for the government to locate the power plants near the industrial complex.Apart from the effects it will have on the Malaysian economy, this will also prove that Malaysia is serious in its efforts to become a major industrialized nation and that having nuclear power plant to support its efforts. The public might not see directly the effects of putting nuclear power plants near factories instead of residential areas which would be more beneficial for the public but if everybody can take a step back and really look at the larger picture, they will clearly see that having nuclear power plants will be a major boost to Malaysia’s effort of becoming an industrialized nation. Regulation and PricingA part of production commonalities mention on natural monopoly and capital intensity and it would be good for the government to approach this matter and inform the public of it. In the case of building two new nuclear power plants in Malaysia, it would probably not be in the best interest of the public for the government to make it a natural monopoly. This will be a new thing for the whole nation and these two nuc lear power plants will be some sort of a highly looked upon experiment and the best thing the government can do is to appoint two different companies to handle those two separate plants, be it local or foreign companies.Having two different companies handling two different nuclear power plants in the country will help in getting some sort of a check and balanced system. It will prevent one company from overcharging the government since the other company will also try to set a good standard and having two companies will help to ensure that there will be less political ploys and decrease the possibility of corruption.Having a small competition between these two companies will also help make sure that good service is going to be provided to the public and since the Malaysian public have no prior experience on nuclear energies, having two competitive companies will surely lead to more information being put out on the table for the public to see. Still with regards to competition, the go vernment should set up a structure to ensure that we have an effective competition in play.While it is best for a government not to get involved in an effective competition market, in this case, the public would benefit if the government can play some influence as to regulating the structure of the market. The government should regulate as to the entry and exit of firms in the industry and the government can always keep track of the market price to ensure no overcharging in terms of rate is occurring since the Malaysian public will have no idea on what the normal rate for nuclear energy would be.In terms of product differentiation, there is nothing much since the main function of nuclear power plants are to produce energy but the firms involved in handling these plants should not be allowed to expand and diversify their businesses for the first few years. The reason would be because Malaysia will be new to this industry and we are already taking a huge risk by building these power p lants and we cannot afford to spread our capital and attention as to diversifying products but stay focus to the main focus of having nuclear power plants which are to create renewable energy to support the growth of our economy.As for capital intensity, it is hard for me to delve into the matter since I lack the knowledge on the infrastructure needed to run a nuclear power plant but I think the policy the government should be going for here would be to ensure there is enough capital to support the nuclear power plants during the first few years since there will be a lot of mistakes and errors at the start of the process.The government should make a policy to ensure they have enough budget to support the capital needed to ensure the nuclear power plants are going to run smoothly. Revenues will probably be low during the first few years as we try to figure out the best rate and how we can effectively use all of the resources we have but it is of the most important for the government and the public for that matter to keep being optimistic regarding the project and to provide full support the original policies and not to alter anything halfway.Another important policy is to make sure that we get local engineers and other important players in the industry to get properly trained so that they will be well equipped to handle all the technical and logistical problems that we might have when running the two power plants. Since the government plans to get the two nuclear power plants up and running before 2022, the government should start implementing new policies that would create more opportunities for students in Malaysia to pursue degrees in nuclear technology or any other field related to running a nuclear power plant for that matter.The government should also start identifying workers for the nuclear power plants and start sending them to other countries like Japan and the United States for specific training. Working at a nuclear power plant will definitely requi re certain level of knowledge and skill and these workers should be immersed with all the experience they can get so that when the power plants in Malaysia are up and running, this group of people will be more than able to handle any sort of problems that might arise at the nuclear power plants.The issue mentioned above might be viewed as unimportant as compared to the issue of safety and cost but having locals to work on Malaysia’s very own nuclear power plants would be a matter of utmost priority for me. The main reason is that having nuclear power plants will definitely generate the economy but if we want to maximize our revenues from this nuclear power plants, we cannot expect to continue to get foreign help for free and that foreign expertise will definitely cost a lot especially in the niche field of nuclear technology. The government will have to seek out help from foreign sectors to help start f the program but the government should also set a dateline on when we can start to fully employ local contractors and local companies to manage our products because that will be the time when we are fully maximizing our use of building two nuclear power plants. Making this policy will help set the tone that the government are interested in not just finding out a new renewable source of energy but are also keen to delve into the nuclear technology world and put our own bright young talents to the test by teaching and letting local Malaysians to handle our own nuclear plants.Another question that should be raised is if building nuclear power plants in Malaysia is a necessity or if it is just a political ploy or maybe even an investment into the future. This would fall under the concept of demand commonalities. The fact is Malaysia needs a new alternative source of energy and even though we have many other options such as hydroelectricity or expanding our solar power abilities, we actually can consider building the nuclear power plants as a necessity because of various reasons.There is no need to repeat previous arguments on how having nuclear power plant would proper Malaysia forward so a fresh new idea would be that having nuclear power plants would actually help label Malaysia as a green country. Everyone knows nuclear power plants are considered to be green an environmentally friendly despite all the radioactive toxic waste they produce.While hydroelectricity can also be considered green, the vast amount of land needed to build a hydroelectric dam would cause disturbance to the natural habitat of various animals and plants because the only large land areas that can accommodate building a dam in Malaysia would be the rainforest and jungles. Nuclear power plants are definitely a better option when we put the environment into play and since all major countries are going green, building our own nuclear power plants would help put Malaysia on the map as a green country. Nuclear Power Plants as a â€Å"Green† Way ForwardThere are many doubts that nuclear power plants are truly green as the radioactive waste they produce are harmful to the environment and Chernobyl is an easy case in point where there are no living beings in the area due to continuing leak of radiation. However, with nuclear energy getting the attention of top scientists all over the world and getting the focus from premier academic institutions, there will be new technologies that can help to better secure radioactive nuclear waste. And while it may be expensive for the Malaysian government to acquire those technologies, it will definitely be a positive way to ease to worries of the public.The Malaysian government needs to make it a regulation to ensure we get the latest of technologies no matter how costly it could be because Malaysia has no experience in handling nuclear materials and we cannot accept the possibility of suffering a nuclear accident at the expense of a fraction of the country’s budget. In the context of legal foundat ion or constitutional foundation, there is not much to go on with. This will be a totally new path for Malaysia and there are no legal precedence for this matter.While there have been cases which directly or indirectly involved the utility industry, none have or will be similar as to the legal matters surrounding the nuclear industry. And this is a good reason why the Malaysian government will have to thread very carefully because any policies or regulations they set can be challenged by the public and even after the government announced its intention to build nuclear power plants, there were advocacy groups getting ready to challenge the decision under the legal context that it would harm the public and that a referendum should be held to find out the consensus on this issue.Legal and Constitutional Issues The constitutional powers of Malaysia is not as strong and tight as the U. S constitution because Malaysia is a relatively new country, gaining independence just over 50 years ag o. Any solid constitution will take hundreds of years of amendments and challenges in order to be a solid constitution and the loopholes in the Malaysian Constitution will ensure that there will be many groups ready to take action if the government slips up in any way.The Malaysian government will have to start drawing up legal process to add fundamentals into the constitution that would ensure the nuclear power plant project would not be halted by court processes. That might sound extremely harsh especially in this democratic world but sometimes tough decisions have to be made on order to get something started and since Malaysia is lagging 50 years behind other countries in the nuclear industry, we need to make sure we get through the project as smoothly as we can.One main concern regarding the judicial process that can be discussed now is will the state governments be given authority to regulate or even monitor the nuclear power plants or are the federal government going to take f ull control over the authority of the plants. Given that these power plants are going to be public utilities, this issue would be important to address and if a situation comes up within the nuclear power plants, which government is going to be held responsible for it.The most logical answer would be to put the federal government in charge of the whole thing and leave state authorities totally out of it. This would simplify the bureaucratic process that has been pretty common with Malaysia and it will also make it easier to oversee the project with just one authority on deck. The federal government should take full responsibility for anything that happens to the plants and this will help because the federal government would then need to do a better job since it will not have anybody to blame for if anything goes wrong with the project.Pricing would be difficult to touch upon now since we do not know how much the project will cost and how much of taxpayers money are going to be used. One thing for sure is that the government should make sure the cost of the nuclear power plant project should be distributed equally among all parties involved including the public. To add to that, the government should also make sure that it uses resources from Petronas, a large petroleum company owned by the federal government to try and subsidize as much as possible as to the cost of the project.This seems ironic since a petroleum firm would have to pay to help build another source of energy that would eventually take over the petroleum industry but the Petronas firm has been really successful with the support of the public, being one of the highest revenue making firm in Asia. Making sure that Petronas plays a huge role in the nuclear power plant building project would be like an effective social policy since Petronas have been playing a huge role for the Malaysian public in many other issues.Rate Structuring and Utility Commissions In terms of rate structures, it will depend he avily on the type of customers the power plant will be going for. If the government decides to generate power from the nuclear power plants for the residential areas, they are going to have to keep the rates low since the main consumer base would be the working class who probably will not be able to afford a high rate on electricity.If the government decides to go for supplying energy to the industrial complex, they can then probably charge a higher rate since their main consumer will consist of firms who can probably afford high rates in terms of electricity. Rate design elements do not really apply in the case of nuclear power plants since they are going to be producing energy day in and day out and also the fact that Malaysia does not have 4 different weather seasons, providing the opportunity for the power plant to function all the time.Since Malaysia does not have a public utility commissions with regard to nuclear energy, there should be foundations to start making plans to se t up a public utility commissions for nuclear energy. And as far as my knowledge goes, Malaysia does not that many public utilities commissions with regards to other industries as well, given that most prices and regulations are actually being done by the firms involved and the public has not had much to say about how most of the utilities in Malaysia are being priced.However, with nuclear industry it is going to be a whole new world and since Malaysia will be joining an elite group of countries in the world with nuclear power plants, the public will want to understand more on this particular issue and having a nuclear commission on the ready would help to strengthen the support from the public. The decision to start building Malaysia’s own nuclear power plant is a big decision, the kind of decision that will have a lasting impact on Malaysia’s social and economic policy.In order to make sure that the public will be along the same line, the government needs to appoint people who are highly respected and have some knowledge on this particular area to lead the project. The government cannot afford to choose base on political affections or even factor in cronyism because a project of this caliber will require the trust of the public and one of the most important aspects the public is going to look for is on who will be in charge for the project. If the government can play its cards right this time, it can also mark a change in a policy that has been known for so long to involve corruption, politics and cronyism.While the paper has discussed a lot on how much the cost of the nuclear power plant project, the regulations and policies that we need to put in place and even the environmental effect of nuclear power plants, we did not touch on the industry itself and how Malaysia is going to fit in into an industry worth billions. Getting foreign expertise during the first few years of operation is perfectly understandable and we already mentioned on getti ng the locals to come in so that the power plants can be totally domestic but what the government should consider is to try to delve into the industry while we are in it.We lack the experience necessary to just join the industry but while we start to get foreign help, what we can do is build contacts and start to expand our networking in the nuclear industry. It will definitely take decades for Malaysia to even be considered a player in the nuclear industry but since we are going to spend billions of dollars on building nuclear power plants, why not add a couple more and make it a long standing policy to push us into the nuclear arena.The government can start giving out subsidies to help support companies that are interested in field and make sure we are in constant supply of nuclear engineers and scientists. It might take us 30 to 40 years to start building our name in the industry but nuclear power plants have a life cycle of 40-60 years and there will be ample time for the govern ment to set and amend policies that will help to get Malaysia into the nuclear technology field. The most dangerous yet seemingly reasonable fear that we could have on the issue of building power plants in Malaysia was never put on the table by anyone.While we mentioned that we fear of terrorist threats and how we can protect nuclear radioactive waste, we never mentioned that setting policies on learning more about the nuclear weapon might lead to increase interest in building interest in acquiring our own nuclear weapon. Even worse, some of our future nuclear scientists might run of with whatever knowledge and materials they can get on nuclear and start building their own nuclear bombs. It might sound ludicrous but these cases have happened before and Malaysia is also located next to Indonesia, a country that has long been affiliated with terrorist groups in the Middle East.A small country like Malaysia getting its own nuclear material and located next to a known terrorist hub will likely make Malaysia a soft and viable target for major terrorist organizations who would want to acquire nuclear materials and knowledge. If this were to happen, it would a major disaster to Malaysia, and probably to the world for that matter and we do not want to put ourselves on the map for all the wrong reasons. What the government needs to start preparing is stringent laws that would scare off potential threats and the government also needs to start beefing up its police and military power in order for the country to be able o protect itself from terrorist threats. The bigger picture would be to toughen up our laws on the borders and start changing our policies with neighboring countries but that should fall under a completely different category under foreign policy and immigration. Securing our country should be a major policy before we start to worry about making it in the nuclear industry or what rate we are going to charge for our nuclear energy products because these terr orist threats are real and the government should be aware of that.In conclusion, the decision made by the Malaysian government to build nuclear power plants in the country by 2022 was a good decision but we need to make sure we cover all the important aspects before we start to step up our gears in the nuclear plant project. The government needs to win the support of the public and we cannot get it if we do not start to change our policies with regards to the safety of nuclear power plants.Our educational policy should be amended in order to equip ourselves with bright young minds and we need to start doing so as early as possible because the process does not just include education but training and working experience as well. Getting nuclear power plants of our own will make Malaysia a force in the industrialized country and we need to prepare to make changes in our social and economic policies as this will be a big transition for the country. Malaysia will also need to make some ch anges in its environmental policies since having nuclear power plants provides Malaysia with the opportunity to display that we are a green nation.It will be hard to change the mentality of Malaysians who are not as interested about the environment as people in other countries but we need this change and this will be the perfect time to do it. Getting Malaysia’s very own nuclear power plants will definitely mark a change in our history and if we want to make it a success, we need to make sure we get it right every step of the way and enjoy the interesting journey of building our own nuclear power plants at the same time.

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This allows the opportunity for them to hone their skills and abilities at a constant rate while offering numerous benefits to the company. These benefits manifest themselves in employee loyalty, low turnover costs and fulfilment of company goals. Figure 6: JIT Model * Some Key Elements of JIT: 1. Stabilize and level the MPS with uniform plant loading (heijunka in Japanese): create a uniform load on all work centers through constant daily production and mixed model assembly (produce roughly the same mix of products each day, using a repeating sequence if several products are produced on the same line). Meet demand fluctuations through enditem inventory rather than through fluctuations in production level. Use of a stable production schedule also permits the use of backflushing to manage inventory: an end item’s bill of materials is periodically exploded to calculate the usage quantities of the various components that were used to make the item, eliminating the need to collect detailed usage information on the shop floor. 2. Reduce or eliminate setup times: aim for single digit setup times (less than 10 minutes) or â€Å"onetouch† setupthis can be done through better planning, process redesign, and product redesign. 3. Reduce lot sizes (manufacturing and purchase): reducing setup times allows economical production of smaller lots; close cooperation with suppliers is necessary to achieve reductions in order lot sizes for purchased items, since this will require more frequent deliveries. 4. Reduce lead times (production and delivery): production lead times can be reduced by moving work stations closer together, applying group technology and cellular manufacturing concepts, reducing queue length (reducing the number of jobs waiting to be processed at a given machine), and improving the coordination and cooperation between successive processes; delivery lead times can be reduced through close cooperation with suppliers, possibly by inducing suppliers to locate closer to the factory.

Destination Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Destination Evaluation - Essay Example Through considerable exports the region has helped in gaining access to a huge pool of foreign investments which are expended over development of sectors like tourism. The region through the opening up of large number of hotels and tourism related infrastructure has helped in attracting many tourists from other nations which helped in enhancing the country’s revenues (Library of Congress-Federal Research Division, 2007, p.3, 8, 13). In this connection the paper further divulges to reflect on a particular state of the Saudi Arabian region, Bahrain and evaluate the destination in terms of the different tourism opportunities available. This state located in the Saudi Arabian peninsula is also a prime member of the cooperation council of the Gulf region joined by countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and other Saudi Arabian regions including the United Arab Emirates. ... Tourism Activities in Bahrain The region of Bahrain is gradually developing as one of the tourist hotspots in the Saudi Arabian region. Tourism is being increasingly developed in the region of Bahrain through rendering enhanced focus on drawing in large crowds to the state. It is observed that considerable amount of tourism activities would help in rendering large economic prosperity to the region. To develop Bahrain as a hunting ground for tourists the government of the region is keenly focusing on the development of hotels of three and five star qualities in large numbers. Further the region is also inviting grants from world bodies like the United Nations to help in the development of the heritage sites in the Bahrain region. The national airlines carrier of the region, Gulf Airlines is also found to render increased support for helping in the promotion of tourism in the region by helping attract large number of tourists at concessional rates. Further the government of Bahrain is increasingly focusing on the development of activities like trade expos and exhibitions which would help fetch large number of foreign delegates from developed regions of the world. Corporate tourism is being widely encouraged by helping in the enhancement of amenities pertaining to organization of meetings and conferences. The region is also found to host international sporting events like the Grand Prix which signifies the flow of large number of tourists in the country. The government of Bahrain to help encourage this wide flow of international tourists is continually working for the development of hotels and several tourism facilities inside the country with the active cooperation of the Gulf Cooperation

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned Speech or Presentation

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned - Speech or Presentation Example The data came from a random survey of 100 participants who actively exercised daily. They were asked to list the main form of exercise they partake. Their weight as well as the average hours of work out per day were recorded and the calories burnt computed based on the averages reported on literature. In particular its expected that a person weighing 70kg would burn 560,490, 245 and 420 calories by running, jogging, walking and cycling for one hour respectively. Statistica analysis was performed using simple tools such as graphs, table of summaries, correlation analysis and regression analysis. To begin with, the distribution of respondents with regard to their main form of exercise is summarized by the pie chart below. In this case, there were equal numbers of respondents per form of exercise (Kutner, et al., 2005). A summary of the various parameters of interested is presented in the following table. It is clear that the average weight of respondents was about 80Kg in all the categories. Moreover people worked out an average of 3.5 hours per day burning 1000 and 2600 calories. A look at the trend in the calories burn out for various forms of exercise was done by plotting line graphs. To begin with, a line graph of calories burnt against the hours worked our is presented hereunder. On average, the more hours of cyclingp, the more calories are

The Use of Sociological Research in Public Debate Issues of Social Essay

The Use of Sociological Research in Public Debate Issues of Social Deviance - Essay Example On the other hand are the post modernists, who believed that these events are part of sociological change brought about by different factors, and thus, should not be remorsed but embraced. The two principles are governed by sets of reasons, but what drove them to stand is the information brought about sociological research. Sociological research on teenage pregnancy and co-habitation aims to transmit understanding to the people, in such a way that it would reconcile the traditionalist thought and modernist thought; however, it does not deny the possibility of widening the gap between the two principles. Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of the origins and development of organizations and the relationship of each person to their society. There is known to be an irrevocable relationship of an individual’s experiences to the whereabouts of his society; a person affects society as much as society affects the person (Newman, 2010, p. xxii). This seems to be a chicken-and- egg question, but truth remains that not one sociologist can pin point which affects whom and vice versa because society and people are two nondetachable elements. Sociological research’s use is to examine the problems of the society, the reasons of such problems, and if those problems are still considered problems in the modern world, especially that several factors are present influencing social issues. Plummer (2010, p. 3) sees Sociology as a â€Å"critique and wonderer† who continually thinks and appreciate the â€Å"complex patterns of social life.† Complex, in a sense that people’s social thoughts are evolutionary, and sometimes, more negative perspectives than the positive ones show, described by Plummer (2010, p. 4) as a â€Å"march of humanity’s inhumanity.† As varied as the cultures of people, sociological research respects cultural norms. The studies are helpful in beginning to end bigotry, and begin tolerance in understanding oth er cultures and stresses the importance of eliminating bias, although at times it may be unstoppable. Issues such as teenage pregnancy and cohabitation are two most common social deviants, where both are favorite topics of formal and informal arguments. Teenage Pregnancy and Early Motherhood as a Public Issue There are a number of factors which may contribute to the widespread of early sexual experience among teenagers. An alarming 41,329 girls under age 18 became pregnant in 2008 (Rogers, 2010). This statistical record is already around 3% lower than what the nation made in 2007 but the decrease is not really a significant number to rejoice about because it represents only a small percentage of the total pregnant teens’ population. Adding to the reckless potential of the media is the teenagers’ attitude itself towards sexual activities. In Liscio’s (2011) report, the issue holds a different case, mentioning about the brighter side of teenage pregnancy. Accordin g to the study, teenagers are more likely to â€Å"re-engage themselves at school once the baby is born.† This is probably due to a human’s parental instinct, that is one should have a child of his own, it is obligatory to give him or her brighter future. As education becomes a key of having better job opportunities, teenage parents do their best in academic performance. However, this does not make the issue at least acceptable because it is still an ongoing debate whether teenage pregnancy should be accepted as a part of change or should remain as a social taboo subject to restriction of discussion and adaption. Teenage mothers are forced to turn from single life’s luxury and face the responsibilities of motherhood

Science, Health, and Environmental Issues Research Proposal

Science, Health, and Environmental Issues - Research Proposal Example These disposable products become quite hazardous in terms of the toxins they release to the oceans. The toxins are also pumped into the atmosphere which contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer and loss of marine life. The better way to do business is to make use of packages which can be recycled. New government regulations should be developed on how to choose green products and materials which are easily decomposable (Geier 20). The environmental hazards caused by the disposal products are not overstated, they are a reality. The US environmental policy should focus more on the development of renewable energy sources as these resources have the capability of supplying the energy needs of the country and has many benefits like ensuring a clean environment, increased national security and fuel diversity as well as economic and regional benefits. The developed nations pollute less as compared to developing countries. Industrial pollution is a problem which is faced by developing countries than the developed ones since they lack the basic services and facilities to prevent the pollution. The United States does is the only first world nation which does not have a universal health coverage as it believes that Universal Healthcare would lead to a poor performance in its health service and that a Universal Healthcare is a kind of socialism (Geier 30). US also thought that the Universal Healthcare would lead to a socialist control over its

Management Practices in Saudi Arabias Public Hospitals Dissertation

Management Practices in Saudi Arabias Public Hospitals - Dissertation Example The paper â€Å"Management Practices in Saudi Arabia’s Public Hospitals† examines the challenges relative to developing high quality health care in Saudi Arabia. It is known that the Saudi Arabian government has been giving high priority to health care in its developmental plans but despite the high spending, services in the sector are not up to the mark. It thus becomes imperative to examine managerial philosophies in the context of leadership styles, organizational culture and its relationship with quality management practices in public hospitals in the country. It is evident that quality management has not been adopted in the country’s public sector in the true spirit primarily because of the difficulties faced because of several factors relative to the country’s culture and barriers faced in implementing modern management practices. This research has focused on examining the hurdles and identifying the issues that prevent implementation of good managem ent practices. Given that quality is the focus of all organizations in a competitive environment, it becomes important for public hospitals in Saudi Arabia to make quality the highest priority in their functions. Although quality management connotes varied meanings for organizations, the healthcare sector needs to recognize that strict professional standards should be maintained by focusing on customer understanding and investments. Quality performance is known to strongly impact operational performance but the main issue is how to make the required achievements. The literature review has examined the viewpoints of several researchers that have considered how variables of quality management influence performance, such as external quality requirements, corporate support for quality, managerial knowledge, product complexity and organizational uncertainty. The size of the industry, country and processes undertaken by the organization are also determinants of quality management practice s. Whatever the circumstances that characterize the working of any organization, the support of the top management is essential to provide a meaningful direction to workers. Innovations are necessary in order to make improvements in services, procedures and products. In the context of public hospitals in Saudi Arabia, transformational leadership has been found to result in employee motivation and satisfaction. Using this style in healthcare helps in providing a clear concept about how quality services are to be provided in hospitals. Moreover, quality standards and other strategies help in improving the status and satisfaction of patients. Given that customer satisfaction is a measure of quality, evaluating and monitoring healthcare are important to achieve high standards in public hospitals. In the present context, socio economic progress in Saudi Arabia during the last thirty years can be seen in sectors such as transport, education and health. In view of the development in health services, longevity has increased in the country, while change in lifestyle has led to increase in chronic diseases. However, the Ministry of Health in the country is facing problems in making long term plans in health care because of the unavailability of reliable data relative to health facilities. But the health care sector in Saudi Arabia is being improved with the introduction of health insurance, paid medical services, privatization of medical services and decentralizing authority in hospitals. However, these measures are still in the infancy stage and healthcare continues to be free for all citizens as well as expatriates that work in the public sector. Free medical and rehabilitation services in hospitals, particularly in big cities, have

Race and stereotypical attitudes In the United States Research Paper

Race and stereotypical attitudes In the United States - Research Paper Example Stereotype is closely related with the other terms such as discrimination and prejudice but holds a different concept. According to Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braly, stereotyping can give rise to discrimination and racial prejudice among different groups within a society. For example; recently people in America can be seen reporting any activity of terrorism with Muslims. This is a typical example of a stereotypical thinking where any act of terrorism is being associated with a religious group. However, in the past, such acts of terrorism were observed being linked with the Blacks. Blacks were thought as the people who carry a gun or any weapon when they are walking around casually. They were considered as the robbers or buglers. However, this raised hostile behavior for the blacks by the whites and vice versa. Racial Inequality and Behavior in United States Racial inequality in the country has given rise to different societal issues that has adversely affected the behavior and quality of life of the people belonging from different cultural backgrounds in America including the native Americans. Racial inequality has given rise to unequal distribution of wealth, power, resources and other opportunities. This is had not given rise to different societal issues but it has also effected the behavior of Americans. Racial discrimination has outlined numerous cultural, legal, political and economic issues. Even American can be seen having biased against the people of color. According to a poll conducted by Washington Post regarding the incident of Trayvon Martin, who was shot brutally in Florida on the bases of his races. It was found out that 55% of Americans believe that people with different color are given more freedom when it comes to legal accountability as compare to whites. However, on the other hand, 80% of the African Americans believe that the legal accountability system in America holds a discriminative behavior against the people of color. This perception amo ng the people indicates that Americans are divided on the subject of racial issues. Also, it provokes a thought that is the legal accountability system is biased while treating the people of color differently? Racial bias in America has adversely affected the behavior of people and despite what the authorities claim this issue holds a significant position in the American history. During 1940s, African Americans faced a hostile behavior from the white people. The efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an evidence to support to this hostility that how African Americans were deprived of their legal and social status by the majority of white people in America. In another piece of literature, James Weldon Johnson in his â€Å"The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man† has explained that how as an African American one was faced with racial discrimination and how that man preferred to live as a middle-class white man. This indicates that the thinking and behavior of that African America n man was changed due to the hostile attitude and behavior he had to face by the white groups. His circumstances led him to change his identity and lifestyle which could be seen how people today are shifting their identity from their roots to a new one. Similarly, he has explained in his story that how the behavior of the blacks were regarded as low as they never put an effort

Association of Islam with violence in the West Term Paper

Association of Islam with violence in the West - Term Paper Example Previously preaching from Mecca, where he faced persecution, he fled with his followers to Medina. It is in this city that religious conflicts between Muslims and Christians began (Juergensmeyer 13). He fought with the Jews and conquered them. He succeeded in uniting the tribes of Arabia but finally died at the age of 62 in the year 632. After his death, succession disputes broke giving rise to schism in Islam which culminated to the formation of the two Islamic groups. The Islamic religion expanded both by virtual of conquest and peaceful means. Trade was a major expansion tool. Muslims invaded Sub-Saharan West Africa and China for trade and virtually dominated the export-import industry and with it, came the spread of Islam. Its unique cultural style began to diversify and with it people converted to the religion. The ultimate result is the association of Islam with eminent violence (Juergensmeyer 13). Study findings and discussions Argued from all sides and delinking the fact from ones religion, the assertion that Islam religion is violent is partly true and partly false. There is no clear consensus on the nature of Islam religion. Although violence is prevalent in almost the whole world involving many religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, the world associates Islamic religion with violence more than any other religion. Historical events like conquering of Spain by Muslims, Christian crusades started by Christians and the Ottoman domination of Eastern Europe showcase Islamic relation to force and power. Recent violent movements in the Middle East which are advanced in the name of Islam and efforts to resolve conflicts and conditions created by the West in trying to force Western ideas in the Muslim have merely served to reinforce the view that Islam is a violent religion (Wilkinson 20). It is evident that though Westerners have created this notion historically, Islam has had no more conflicts than any other western civilization. Violence by all means takes different forms and definitions based on the prevailing situation and environment. According to Islam, force is to be found everywhere in humans and the environment. Violence in Islamic teachings is only used in accordance with the divine law. Use of force can only be applied if equilibrium is to be maintained. Restoration of a broken equilibrium is accepted as a necessary means of maintaining a just system. Excessive use of force creates a disequilibrium and disorder resulting to more injustice. In fact, excessive use of force depends on circumstances but with the aim of establishing equilibrium and not to fulfill individuals’ interests or for sectarian reasons (Rapoport 659). Although Islam has endured a lot of invasions and attacks, peace is still felt in areas where traditional Islamic teachings are maintained. Islam is opposed to the use of force on the basis of inflicting injuries except in war and executing punishments according to the Sharia law. Islamic law protects the rights of both Muslims and non-Muslims and is opposed to the use of force against other people’s rights. If the violation of people’s rights occurs then that is against the Islamic teachings. Regardless of the various negative economic, social and sectarian factors

A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay Example for Free

A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay This character study focuses on is Patrick Bateman, the anti-hero protagonist of American Psycho, an often misunderstood satire of the upper class American lifestyle by Bret Easton Ellis. The book is set in New York in the 1980s, and let the reader see through the eyes of the protagonist himself by using first narrative. Therefore when reading the novel it feels as if one is reading a diary, although there are no strict time intervals between each chapter. The storyline is very simple. The novel depicts the everyday life of Patrick Bateman with every minute detail. We are put right into a typical scene of Batemans life straightaway at the start when we see him and his friends at a posh dinner party. Immediately we get the idea that he is very rich and lives his life in style. The foods at the dinner party are exotic and Bateman couldnt help keep showing off his platinum American Express Card. Like his friends, he loves to mock homeless people and those less fortunate than him. One of his favourite tricks is to pretend handing a dollar note to a beggar and then taking it away in the last second whilst taking pleasure from the disappointment of his victim. He also possesses some good qualities. For example, he is extremely intelligent and shows disgust in discrimination of any kind, provided that those people are on the same level as him. He even ridiculed a colleague for his anti-Semitic comments. However these good qualities are actually a fai ade, hiding his true personality. Contrary to what appears, he is strongly homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic and unfair to women. This can be demonstrated by his opinion of rap music, describing it as too niggerish. His views on women were they are only there to help men carry on the human race. Patrick Bateman is also very health conscious. Except for an occasional cigar, he does not smoke and loathes others who do. He also imposes a strict healthy foods regime on himself. His regime is somewhat similar to a vegans. He eats mostly fruit and almost never meat, with a special emphasis on exotic foods. His favourites include kiwi fruit paste and Japanese apple-pears, costing him an inordinate amount for each. To complement his dietary regime, Bateman frequently utilizes his exclusive, private health centre named Xclusive. Furthermore, he uses a wide range of health care products and medicines. These are actually Ellis exaggeration of what happens in real life, where the social elites desperately try and keep themselves healthy, with any means possible. During the day Bateman can be seen as a normal upper class person, but during the night things are completely different. When asked about what he does during the night, he replies I have to return some video tapes. This has become the euphemism of his night-time activities. At night, he indulges himself in murdering innocents and raping unfortunate individuals. Sometimes the shock of doing these things gets to him, and he starts to have panic attacks. Its during these panic attacks we see really how weak he is. He often confesses his crimes to total strangers. However they always ignore him and think its a joke. This, combined with how characters in the book often mistakes one person for another, is Ellis way of representing how in the modern world we dont really care about who we are talking to. One thing that cannot be ignored about the novel is how explicit it is. Rapes, murders and grotesque actions are described with nothing left out. For example, in one of the scenes Patrick Bateman drinks his own urine and in another scene, he cuts out the eyes of a homeless person. To give you an idea of what the language is like, heres an extract from the book: I push the serrated blade into its [a dogs] stomach and quickly slice open its hairless belly in a squirt of brown blood, its legs kicking and clawing at me, then blue and red intestines bulge out and I drop the dog onto the sidewalk. He [the owner] just stare in horror saying oh my god oh my god as the sharpei drags itself around in a circle, its tail wagging, squealing, and it starts licking and sniffing the pile of its own intestines, spilled out in a mound on the sidewalk, some still connected to its stomach. From this you can see how graphical the book is. Unfortunately this is only a small piece of the whole story and this extract is the most weak in terms of disgust in the book. This simply enforces the idea of how demented and psychotic Patrick Bateman is. The irony of the novel is that Bateman does completely opposite things whilst insisting what he does is always right. For example, he often mocks his colleagues for making discriminatory comments, but he is secretly just as discriminatory. While he outlandishly keeps himself fit and healthy, he abuses cocaine and anti-depressants. This is the core of Ellis satire, where he makes fun of the upper class, which insists on their perfection but actually is ignorant on how imperfect they are. Also in the novel Bateman dedicates a single chapter plus many parts of other chapters detailing his material wealth. Also he tirelessly compares his belongings to those of someone else. Indeed in one scene he discovered that another persons business card was of a better quality and design than his and thus started to have intense jealousy for that person. This can be interpreted as Ellis satire directed at the greed of humans and our desperate struggle to have the best of everything. After he commits his final murder, Bateman does not feel good and high as he described it. Instead, he feels nothing. Not even killing can satisfy him now. It is astounding how he was never suspected of any of the numerous murders he committed. At the end we discover that he may have imagined all his acts of atrocity. This deliberate ambiguity is the only mercy Ellis has for this truly evil character. Despite this, I pity Patrick Bateman, for he tried to find pleasure, like we all do but in other ways, and failing to do so. In the end, he is left hollow with no emotion left whatsoever. Its pitiful how one can become mentally deranged on ones quest for personal gain.

Racial Profiling And The Police

Racial Profiling And The Police The concern about racial profiling is erupting throughout the country. Many provinces, cities, social groups, and academics have decided to study racial profiling, and how race and ethnicity may play a part in police investigations. Toronto is no different. Allegations of racial profiling have been around for years and still are a subject that creates a lot on media hype and controversy surrounding police. Racial profiling should not be confused in with criminal profiling, because they are two different things (Mucchetti, 2006, pp. 1-32). Racial profiling is not specific to one race or one country. Actually being racially profiled can happen to anyone no matter what race or gender or what country they live in. In Toronto, there have been numerous newspaper and television articles accusing the Toronto Police Service of institutionalized racism and racial profiling (Canadian Race Relations Foundations, 2005). Along with the media articles, there have been complaints filed at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario accusing the Toronto Police Service and its members of racial profiling (The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2009). Naturally, race is what makes allegations of racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service so controversial and, at least at the level of public rhetoric, so condemned. But it is important to rethink racial profiling through the lens of criminal profiling and to reduce race to the role that it is purportedly playing in racial profiling, namely a predictive factor; to treat race no differently than we would gender, class, age, or any other profile that works; to take the focus away from race and place it on criminal profiling more generally. This paper will examine racial profiling by police and explaining it according to the different sociological perspectives of functionalist, conflict, interactionist, and feminist. The paper will also attempt to argue if there is institutional racial profiling by the Toronto Police. My thesis is the Toronto Police does not systematically racially profile, instead they systematically criminally profile. In order to examine racial profiling and criminally profiling one must understand the differences between the two. Although there is no clear or universal definition of racial profiling, there is a common component in all of the definitions (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2009). This paper defines racial profiling as the practice of targeting racial minorities for criminal investigation solely or, in part, on the basis of their skin colour (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 1999). According to the Harvard Latino Law Review, criminal profiling involves: The use of racial or ethnic characteristics by police departments in stopping an individual because his or her description matches that of an actual suspect. In this sense, race functions as the equivalent of hair color or height, which can then be used in combination with other factors to paint a more accurate portrait of a suspected criminal. As a result, generalized notions of criminal propensity are not projected onto an individual because of that persons membership in a particular racial or ethnic group (Mucchetti, 2006, pp. 1-32). . The term racial profiling began in 1980s, when the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the United States developed and used common characteristics to profile drug couriers as part of the agencies war on drugs (Harris, 2006, pp. 213-239). When community members began to complain about police investigations and their actions towards minorities, the use of the profiling technique emerged to be labelled as racial profiling (Ibid). Functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, interactionist perspective, and feminist perspective all propose societies portrayals of discrimination pressure and manipulate individuals to deem their social class, sexual category, race, and sexuality superior over others. Prejudice is caused by psychological and sociological influence, where individuals are manipulated by their surroundings to hate another solemnly based on their disparity This paper concedes that racial profiling may exist on an individual basis within the Toronto Police Service. This was confirmed by Chief Blair of the Toronto Police Service who was speaking a diversity conference and said: Racism is a human failing. Racial profiling can occur. Weve acknowledged that right up front (Doolittle, 2009). Social activist groups along with minorities groups claims of systematic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service exists, and refer to publish articles to support their claims such as the 2002 series of newspaper articles written by the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star newspaper articles used empirical data collected from the Toronto Police Services Criminal Information Processing System (CIPS) database. According to the newspaper articles that examined 480,000 files contained within the database, relating to arrest and traffic stops. The Toronto Star concluded that, Blacks arrested by Toronto Police are treated more harshly than white, and a disproportionate number of black motorists are ticketed for violations that only surface following a traffic stop. This difference, says civil libertarians, community leaders and criminologists, suggest police use racial profiling in deciding whom to pull over (Toronto Star Newspaper, 2009, p. A01). The Toronto Star supported their claims of racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service by providing statistical analysis of the CIPS database which compared the number of arrest and tickets issued to blacks, and showed how disproportionate the numbers were to the number of whites living in Toron to (Ibid). Social groups and minorities further their claims of systematic racially profiled by the Toronto Police Service by using rulings by The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and refer to the recent ruling of Ron Phipps versus the Toronto Police Service. On June 18th, 2009 The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario handed down a decision on a case involving members of the Toronto Police Service and a black Canada Post letter carrier. In the tribunals decision they concluded that Ron Phipps was racially profiled by a white police. The adjudicator wrote in her submission I find that Michael Shaw did discriminate against the applicant on March 9, 2005 in the provision of police services on the basis of colour, contrary to section 1 and 9 of the Code (Canadian Legal Information Institute). Social and minority groups also further their arguments of systematic racial profiling by Toronto Police Service based on the fact that Service does not collect or release race base statistics. They argue that One fears that the only reason the Police Board refuses to release this data is to ensure that the public does not get updated information on racial profiling (Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, 2008). Examining the Toronto Star articles as a police officer, it is obvious that there are errors in their conclusions. The Toronto Star compiled its data using the files contained in the CIPS database, which ONLY contained files relating to arrest and tickets issued to persons. The problem using only this database is that it does not take into account the number of persons the police had investigated where there was no arrest or tickets issued. By only selecting the CIPS database and not the true number of persons stopped by police would have skewed the final results. The Toronto Stars analysis should have used all data which would have either enforcing their claims systemic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service or disproving it. The data-collection by the Toronto Star was also disputed by Allan Gold based on the distinction between reactive and proactive policing (2003, pp. 391-399). Gold argues reactive policing could attribute to claims of racial profiling while proactive policing will not. When it comes to the collection of data, the Toronto Start uses both styles of policing which flawed their conclusion (Ibid). Gold also disagreed with the Toronto Stars use of the general census numbers in its data comparison and their claims that it was a recognized baseline standard. Gold argues that no reputable researcher would use the figures from the general census and in fact, the American literature on racial profiling makes it clear that the uses of the general census as a baseline is worthless (2003, pp. 391-399). He further claims that the construction of the baseline is crucial and because of that fact, the Toronto Star article should be dismissed (Ibid). The Ontario Human Rights Commission uses the following definition of racial profiling: any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin, or a combination of these, rather than on a reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment (2009). The Ontario Human Rights Commissions definition is much broader then the definition used by the courts; the practice of targeting racial minorities for criminal investigation solely or, in part, on the basis of their skin colour (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 1999). The Ontario Human Rights Commission broad definition of racial profiling does not allow the factor of race to play any part in a police officers decision. This means that no matter what if police use race as a factor at anytime, then he or she is racially profiling according to the Commissions definition. In the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision where Ron Phipps filed a complaint of racial profiling against members of the Toronto Police Service, the adjudicator said: In this case, as in many cases alleging racial discrimination, there is no direct evidence that race was a factor in the officers decision to take the actions that he did (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2009). Even with this statement, the adjudicator found the member of the Toronto Police Service guilty saying: I find that Michael Shaw did discriminate against the applicant on March 9, 2005 (Ibid). The problem with the Tribunals decision is that the adjudicator used circumstantial evidence in her decision of quilt, but should have used a clear defined evidence based system instead. According to Chief Blair of the Toronto Police Service, the ruling created an impossibly high standard and you can have the best of intentions and be totally without bias but none of that matters if someone wants to believe you are biased (Lesley Ciarula Taylor, 2009). In the recent Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership campaign, Tim Hudak and Randy Hillier both members of the Ontario Parliament called for the overhaul of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (The Canadian Press, 2009). They claimed the current system is dysfunctional and called for evidence based system one similar to the family court system instead of a system that is based on hurt feelings (Ibid). The argument of race based crime statistics date back to 1929 (Johnston, 1994, p. 166). Social activist groups along with minorities groups have argued that the reason Toronto Police Service is not releasing race based crime statistics is due to the that fact they are racial profiling (Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, 2008) . In fact in 1989 the opposite argument was used by community groups when then Inspector Julian Fantino released crime based statistics, claiming them to be inherently racist (Johnston, 1994, p. 166). According to Robin S. Engel an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati and Director of the University of Cincinnati Policing Institute, Data will never prove or disprove racially biased policing, we contend that vehicle stop data collection and analysis should never be viewed-either by police or resident stakeholders-as a pass fail test. Rather, it should be viewed as a diagnostic tool to help pinpoint the decisions, geographic areas, and procedures that should get priority attention when the agency, in concert with concerned residents, identifies its next steps for addressing the problem or perception of racial profiling (2008, pp. 1-36). Systematic is defined in the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary as methodical in procedure or plan (2009). In order for the arguments of systematic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service to be true, the Service would have to have policies or procedures in place that sanctioned it. In fact the Toronto Police Service does not sanction any form of racial profiling by its members. The Service has numerous rules and procedures that prohibit racial profiling along with a Diversity Management Unit that monitors all human rights complaints and ensures that all members provide a bias-free service to the community (2009). Members of the Toronto Police Service are constantly being advised of their responsibility in providing a bias-free service to the community. These reminders are done through training and education, the Services Core Values and letters to the members of the Service, such as a letter written in 2003 by then Chief Juilian Fantino who wrote; we must be aware that social and institutional pressures can lead to unacceptable instances of racial bias in policing. Police officers must make their decisions to engage the public based on the actions or conduct that they observe, on actual witness information and/or on hand evidence. Police officers must have articulable cause or reasonable grounds in order to pursue legitimate law enforcement activities with a member of the public. We must not make any decision to stop, question and/or search citizens based solely on a persons race. All of us, at all times, must provide equitable and respectful service to all persons regardless of race. I believe that the best way to deal with this and all other issues is simply by always treating people, all people, professionally. Lets continue to treat all people and each other with dignity and respect. Professional conduct means that we will never go wrong or be found wanting in our dealings with all components of our diverse society (Toronto Police Service, 2003). Although the Toronto Police Service does not systematically racially profile, they do systematically criminally profile. Criminal profiling also known as Criminal Investigative Analysis (CIA) is an effective tool enabling law enforcement agencies to enforce the law more effectively (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). The origins of criminal profiling can be traced back to 1800s when it was first used in case to identify Jack to Ripper (Winerman, 2004, p. 66). The current use of criminal profiling by law enforcement was developed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in the United States by their Behaviour Science Unit (Ibid). Criminal profiling can be broken into two stages; the first could be described as general profiling and the second as specific profiling (Palermo, 2002, pp. 383-385). General profiling is part of an officers everyday duties and investigations of any crime, such as traffic stops, while specific profiling is more refined in the officers approach to evidence and crime scene investigations (Ibid). Criminal profiling can also take on several forms. The first form of criminal profiling can be institutional, which is where the organization develops the profile of the offender, while the second for can be formed by the individual officer. This form of criminal profiling is developed by the officer from his or her personal experiences (Higgins Gabbidon, 2009, pp. 77-88). In todays policing, Toronto Police Service front-line officers incorporated the general profiling aspect of criminal profiling when performing their general duties but will on occasion incorporate specific profiling aspects when responding to a serious radio call. The officers will also use both organizational and individual forms of criminal profiling as well. A basic form of institutional criminal profiling is taught to members of the Toronto Police Service when he or she attends the Ontario Police College as a basic recruit. The recruits are provided the necessary knowledge of laws, procedures and skills that will help them perform their duties as frontline officers. With emphasis on the core function of police services found in the Ontario Police Service Act section 4(2) which focuses on Crime Prevention, Law Enforcement, Assistance to Victims of Crime, Public Order Maintenance, and Emergency Response (2009). The officers are also provided training a variety of subjects including, ethics, anti-racism and community policing (Ibid). The training does not stop when a officer leave the Ontario Police College, the officers are further trained at the Toronto Police College in the Services Rule and Procedures, Core Values and Mission Statement of the Service along with officer safety training. Officers develop individual criminal profiling skills when they start patrolling the streets of Toronto. The officer will respond to thousands of calls varying from thefts, domestics, fights, to vehicle stops. Each time the officer interacts with the individuals, he or she develops their own brand of policing and individual criminal profiling. A more formal institutional style of criminal profiling is incorporated when it comes to serious crimes such as sexual assaults and homicides. It is more specific and uses analyst to develop a profile of a potential suspect, using all available data. The officers then take this profile onto the street of Toronto to look for a suspect. In community policing, officers work closely with problem communities, in developing strategies to help the community combat crime. Working with the community, officers receive information on potential criminal activities and individuals within the community so that they can develop strategies to reduce crime. Officers will incorporate all aspects of criminal profiling to either be reactive or proactive in an attempt to reduce criminality. Being reactive, officers focus their attention on direct information that is received from the community to reduce the current problem within the community. Proactive policing will allow the officers to profile activities and individuals within the community to prevent further victimization. Officers also use criminal profiling when they perform traffic stops. The officer use individual criminal profiling when he or she selects an area to monitor the traffic flow, which is based on the officers personal experience. The officer might select an area where there is a high rate of incidences of failing to stop at a sign or a section or roadway where vehicle speed. When the officer decides to stop the vehicle for a violation of the Highway Traffic Act, he or she again criminally profiles the vehicle and occupants for officer safety reasons. The officer will conduct registration checks on the vehicle and the registered owner, all the time observing the occupants of the vehicle before stopping the vehicle, in order identify any criminal activity. This part of criminal profiling it taught to the officers by the Ontario Police College and the Toronto Police College (institutional criminal profiling) as part of the Officers Safety Section within both colleges, in order to keep the officer safe. There are those who argue that criminal profiling is not supported by scientific evidence and should be dismisses as rhetoric and never be used. This paper agrees that criminal profiling is limited in empirical data but is still a useful tool to combat crime. According to a research study which states, criminal profiling will persist as a pseudoscientific technique until such time as empirical and reproducible studies are conducted on the abilities of large groups of active profilers to predict, with more precision and greater magnitude, the characteristics of offenders (Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin Cullen, 2007, pp. 437-453). Each time when a members of the Toronto Police Service uses criminal profiling while investigating individuals, they are trained to reduce the factor of race so that it is equal to all the other factors of the investigation. In conclusion, the Toronto Police Service does not systematically racially profile as the media, social and minority groups would have us believe. In order for the Toronto Police Service to be blamed for systematically racially profiling, the Service would have to be a plan or procedure in place to support it. The Toronto Police Service does not support any form of racial profiling by it members. In fact the Service is working with the Ontario Human Rights Commission to ensure that the officers being hired reflect the diversity of the City of Toronto, the officers are trained in ethics, and diversity and what constitutes racial bias policing (2009). Criminal profiling plays a crucial and significant role in deterring and combating criminal behaviour and activity. Criminal profiling provides a valuable tool for police in which they can assess and analyze the patterns of criminal behaviour (Turvey, 2008, pp. 1-43). The Toronto Police Service systematically criminally profiles and treats the race component of criminal profiling no differently than they would gender, class, age, or any other profile that works.

Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper -- short story analysis

　　"If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?" (Gilman). Many women in the 1800's and 1900's faced hardship when it came to standing up for themselves to their fathers, brothers and then husbands. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator of the story, is married to physician, who rented a house for the summer to nurse her back to health after her husband think she has neurasthenia but actually suffers from postpartum depression. He suggested the 'rest cure'. She should not be doing any sort of mental of major physical activity, her only job was to relax and not worry about anything. Charlotte was a writer and missed writing. "The Yellow Wallpaper" is significant to literature in the sense that, the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman addresses the issue of the rest cure that Dr. George Miller prescri bed for patients especially to women with neurasthenia, is ineffective and leads to severe depression. This paper in...

Band :: essays research papers

MILES DAVIS This is my report on Miles Davis that I have written for band class. When I first started I didn't even have a clue who Miles Davis was. But for the past week I have been working on this report I have began to realize the amazing life that this famous musician has lived. So I hope you learn as much as I did on this wonderful trumpeter. Even in the beginning he was already miles ahead. It's very evident that Miles knew and lived by that old axiom if it's named, then it's outmoded. Miles Dewey Davis was born May 25, 1926 in Alton, Illinois and grew up in East St. Louis. Miles collected records and for his 13th birthday was given his first trumpet. By age 16, Miles was playing professionally and received his first real taste of what playing jazz was like when Billy Eckstine's band was traveling through and needed to replace a sick horn player. At that time, the band employed Diz and Bird and for two weeks Miles soaked it up! Undoubtedly, the fire had been ignited. After high school, Miles was off to study music and enrolled in Juilliard in September 1944. Practicing his ass off every day and feeding his mind every night Miles' sound was taking shape. As a sideman, Miles recorded his first recording in New York with singer "Rubberleggs" Williams and later recorded "Now,s The Time" & "Ko-Ko" in Parker's quintet. Miles Davis was known to the general public primarily as a trumpet player. However, in the world of music he had a great deal of influence not only as a innovative bandleader but also as a composer. His music and style was important in the development of improvisational techniques incorporating modes rather than standard chord changes. Miles experiments with modal playing reached its apotheosis in 1959 with his recording of Kind Of Blue. Brought up in the Bebop tradition and taught under the auspice of Bird and others, Miles was now ready to lead. After a few solo records, Miles transformed jazz into it's next phase with his BIRTH OF THE COOL sessions, which were recorded 1949-50. These sessions took Bebop, with it's fast running styled chords, which changed on every beat, to a more modal concept and chords that changed every other measure, like in the tune "Dig". As a experiment, Miles formed a nine piece band, with Mulligan, Evans and Lewis as arrangers and incorporating Gunther Schuller on French Horn.

A Global Theory of Knowledge for the Future :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

A Global Theory of Knowledge for the Future ABSTRACT: There is too much factual knowledge to grasp even a speck of the whole. This makes for an excessive diversity that lacks in coherent unity. With no coherency in the parts, there will be no coherent truth in the whole. Without coherent truth there is only a relative truth. Relative truth makes for contradiction from different viewpoints, perceptions, and perspectives. Contradictions deny a common definition and meaning of truth, morality, justice, and beauty. They also deny common standards, values, principles, and virtues. Uncommon values lead to personal and social conflict and confusion, to the blocking of learning in education, to the disintegration of social unity. To have common standards and values, that a global theory of knowledge requires, concrete factual knowledge should be unified by abstract concepts that are unified by abstruse principles that are unified by symbolic structures. Such principles ultimately derive from an ultimate unity and structure. This ultim ate unity is the keystone that holds the whole systematic structure of knowledge together. Definitions: Spiritual: Intuitive knowledge. The antithesis of sensual. Rational: Logical knowledge. The synthesis of the spiritual and sensual. Sensual: Sensory knowledge. The antithesis of the spiritual. Progressive Ranges: Hierarchical social levels, like person, group, nation, civilization. There is too much factual knowledge to grasp even a speck of the whole. This makes for an excessive diversity that lacks in coherent unity. With no coherency in the parts, there will be no coherent truth in the whole. Without coherent truth there is only a relative truth. Relative truth makes for contradiction from different viewpoints, perceptions, and perspectives. Contradictions deny a common definition and meaning of truth, morality, justice, and beauty. They also deny common standards, values, principles, and virtues. Uncommon values lead to personal and social conflict and confusion; to the blocking of learning in education, to the disintegration of social unity. Such personal and social problems result from learning only the factual leaves on the Tree of Knowledge. This causes one to lose sight of unifying principles that are the roots, and the unifying concepts that are the branches. To have common standards and values, that a global theory of knowledge requires, concrete factual knowledge should be unified by abstract concepts, that are unified by abstruse principles, that are unified by symbolic structures. Such principles ultimately derive from an ultimate unity and structure. This ultimate unity is the keystone that holds the whole systematic structure of knowledge together.

Case 1

Case Analysis 1: Hightone Electronics, Inc. Identification Information: This case analysis is from chapter 1 of our text book, Operations Management. It is found on page 25 and titled, â€Å"Hightone Electronics, Inc. † Summary of the Facts of the Case: Hightone Electronics, Inc. (HEI) is an electronic components supply company founded over 50 years ago. The company has a reputation for high quality and service. HEI's simple business of supplying radio repair shops with parts has grown to include home delivery, and larger customers such as technical schools, universities, and well-known corporations.The company stocks and sells over 22,000 different items and most customers receive their order within 48 hours. George Gonzales is the operations director for HEI. He has been tasked with making operations management decisions necessary to make HEI a successful Internet-based business. Mr. Gonzales agrees that this is an important step for the future success of the company but bel ieves there is more to solving the problems of the transition to web-based than the board thinks. Case Questions: 1.Explain why operations management is critical to the success of a business. Operations management (OM) is critical to the success of a business for several reasons. OM is responsible for the decision-making and leadership process that creates the product or service the business provides. The role of OM is to take inputs such as, labor, raw materials, and technology, and turn them into finished goods or services. Other functions of the business, such as marketing, are also important. But, without OM, there would not be a product/service to market to consumers. Reid, 2-23) Why would developing an Internet-based business require different operations consideration for HEI? A traditional catalog-order business and an Internet-based catalog-order business would be very similar in general appearance. A transition to web-based ordering though, would require changes. First, the company would need to upgrade its technology. Either through outsourcing or internal servers, the company would need to create a website. The website would need to be able to handle the customer traffic without crashing.Also, the website would need to be user-friendly so as not to frustrate and turn away potential customer. Customer support personnel would need to be trained to guide customers with questions about the website. Second, and more important than the actual website, is coordinating orders so that requested goods are shipped to the proper customer. Each order transaction will not be entered by a person. Therefore, all of the information gathered by the website will need to be converted to orders easily understood by warehouse personnel.Is George Gonzales correct in his assessment that this would not be â€Å"business as usual†? Yes. The core functions of the physical locations of the catalog-order business will remain mostly the same as before. They will receive o rders, and ship out goods. However, the methods of obtaining orders, customer feedback, return orders, special orders, and many other less notable but still necessary functions will change drastically. If done properly, it will most likely streamline the business, but the initial transition will be difficult. . Recall that HEI wishes to continue its reputation of high quality and service. Identify key operations management decisions that need to be considered. * Will we receive more/less orders? * If demand increases, can HEI supply the demand? * If demand decreases, can HEI â€Å"weather the storm† until demand rebounds? * What new personnel will be required? * Can current employees be trained? * Do new, more technically-advanced employees need to be hired? * Can stock be reduced and operations made more lean? * Should stock be increased?How different will these decisions be for the Internet business? The major difference will be that with a lot of the web-based area of the business, work will be handled electronically and not in a physical location. This will eliminate the need for large call centers and central records keeping locations. A few servers could hold all the information once held by an entire department such as sales, accounting, customer service, etc. This also changes the focus from managing many low-skilled employees to fewer moderate-to-high-skilled employees. Case 1 chapter 2 CHARTING A COMPANY’S DIRECTION: VISION AND MISSION, OBJECTIVES, AND STRATEGY McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright  © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LO1 Grasp why it is critical for company managers to have a clear strategic vision of where a company needs to head and why. LO2 Understand the importance of setting both strategic and financial objectives. LO3 Understand why the strategic initiatives taken at various organizational levels must be tightly coordinated to achieve companywide performance targets.LO4 Become aware of what a company must do to achieve operating excellence and to execute its strategy proficiently. LO5 Become aware of the role and responsibility of a company’s board of directors in overseeing the strategic management process. 2-2 What Does the Strategy-Making, Strategy-Executing Process Entail? 1. 2. 3. 4. Developing a strategic vision Setting objectives Crafting a strategy Implementing and executing the chosen strat egy 5. Monitoring developments, evaluating performance, and initiating corrective adjustments 2-3 FIGURE 2. 1 The Strategy-Making, Strategy-Executing Process 2-4 TABLE 2. Factors Shaping Decisions in the Strategy-Making, Strategy-Executing Process Internal Considerations Does the company have an appealing customer value proposition? What are the company’s competitively important resources and capabilities and are they potent enough to produce a sustainable competitive advantage? Does the company have sufficient business and competitive strength to seize market opportunities and nullify external threats? Are the company’s prices and costs competitive with those of key rivals? Is the company competitively stronger or weaker than key rivals? External ConsiderationsDoes sticking with the company’s present strategic course present attractive opportunities for growth and profitability? What kind of competitive forces are industry members facing and are they acting to enhance or weaken the company’s prospects for growth and profitability? What factors are driving industry change and what impact on the company’s prospects will they have? How are industry rivals positioned and what strategic moves are they likely to make next? What are the key factors of future competitive success and does the industry offer good prospects for attractive profits for companies possessing those capabilities? 2-5Factors Shaping Strategic Decisions External Considerations What are the industry’s economic characteristics? How strong are the competitive forces at play? What forces are driving change in the industry? What market positions do rivals occupy and what moves are they likely to make next? What are the key factors for future competitive success? What are the company’s external opportunities? 2-6 Factors Shaping Strategic Decisions Internal Considerations How well is the present strategy working? What are the company’s competiti vely valuable resources, capabilities, and internal weaknesses? Are the company’s prices and costs competitive?Is the company competitively stronger or weaker than key rivals? 2-7 Stage 1: Developing a Strategic Vision, a Mission, and Core Values Strategic Vision Is top management’s views about the firm’s direction and future product-market-customer-technology focus Provides a panoramic view of â€Å"where we are going† Is distinctive and specific to a particular organization Avoids use of innocuous uninspiring language that could apply to most any firm Definitively states how the company’s leaders intend to position the firm beyond where it is today 2-8 Characteristics of Effectively Worded Vision Statements GraphicPaints a picture of the kind of firm that management is trying to create Flexible Is not so focused that it makes it difficult to adjust Feasible Is within the realm of what is possible Directional Is forward looking to change Desirable Indicates why the directional path makes sense Focused Is specific enough to provide guidance in decision making Easy to Communicate Can be explained in simple terms 2-9 TABLE 2. 2 Characteristics of Effectively Worded Vision Statements Paints a picture of the kind of company that management is trying to create and the market position(s) the company is striving to stake out.Is forward looking; describes the strategic course that management has charted and the kinds of product-market-customer-technology changes that will help the company prepare for the future. Is specific enough to provide managers with guidance in making decisions and allocating resources. Is not so focused that it makes it difficult for management to adjust to changing circumstances in markets, customer preferences, or technology. Is within the realm of what the company can reasonably expect to achieve. Indicates why the directional path makes good business sense.Is explainable in 5 to 10 minutes and, ideally, ca n be reduced to a simple, memorable â€Å"slogan† Graphic Directional Focused Flexible Feasible Desirable Easy to communicate 2-10 TABLE 2. 3 Common Shortcomings in Company Vision Statements Short on specifics about where the company is headed or what the company is doing to prepare for the future. Doesn’t indicate whether or how management intends to alter the company’s current product-market-customer-technology focus. So all-inclusive that the company could head in most any direction, pursue most any opportunity, or enter most any business.Lacks the power to motivate company personnel or inspire shareholder confidence about the company’s direction. Provides no unique company identity; could apply to firms in any of several industries (including rivals operating in the same market arena). Doesn’t say anything specific about the company’s strategic course beyond the pursuit of such distinctions as being a recognized leader, a global or world wide leader, or the first choice of customers. Vague or incomplete Not forward looking Too broad Bland or uninspiring Not distinctive Too reliant on superlatives 2-11Concepts and Connections 2. 1 Examples of Strategic Visions—How Well Do They Measure Up? 2-12 Concepts and Connections 2. 1 Examples of Strategic Visions—How Well Do They Measure Up? 2-13 Examples of Vision Statements To be the global leader in customer value. Provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything. Red Hat To extend our position as the most trusted Linux and open source provider through a complete range of enterprise software, a powerful Internet platform, and associated support and services. 2-14 Core Concept Strategic Inflection PointsA change in vision is required when it becomes evident to management that the industry has changed in a significant way that renders the company’s current vision obsolete. 2-15 The Importance of Communicating the St rategic Vision An engaging, inspirational vision Challenges and motivates the workforce Articulates a compelling case for â€Å"where we are going and why† Evokes positive support and excitement Arouses a committed organizational effort to move in a common direction 2-16 Expressing the Essence of the Vision in a Slogan Nike To bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete in the world The Mayo ClinicThe best care to every patient every day Greenpeace To halt environmental abuse and promote environmental solutions. 2-17 Why a Sound, Well-Communicated Strategic Vision Matters 1. It crystallizes senior executives’ own views about the firm’s long-term direction. 2. It reduces the risk of rudderless decision making by management at all levels. 3. It is a tool for winning the support of employees to help make the vision a reality. 4. It provides a beacon for lower-level managers in forming departmental missions. 5. It helps an organization prepare for the future. 2-18 Strategic Vision versus Mission StatementA strategic vision concerns a firm’s future business path—â€Å"where we are going† Markets to be pursued Future product/ market/customer/ technology focus The mission statement of a firm focuses on its present business purpose—â€Å"who we are and what we do† Current product and service offerings Customer needs being served 2-19 Developing a Company Mission Statement Ideally, a company mission statement is sufficiently descriptive to: Identify the company’s products or services. Specify the buyer needs it seeks to satisfy. Specify the customer groups or markets it is endeavoring to serve.Specify its approach to pleasing customers. Give the company its own identity. 2-20 Example of a Mission Statement The mission of Trader Joe’s is to give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required for informed buying decisi ons. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit. 2-21 Examples of Mission Statements To help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. 2-22 Strategic Mission, Vision, and Profit Firms sometimes state that their mission is to simply earn a profit. Profit is the obvious intent of every commercial enterprise. Profit is not â€Å"who we are and what we do. † Profit is more correctly an objective and a result of what a firm does. 2-23 Linking the Strategic Vision and Mission with Company Values CORE CONCEPT A firm’s values are the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that the firm’s personnel are expected to display in conducting the firm’s business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission. -24 CONCEPTS & CON NECTIONS 2. 2 ZAPPOS MISSION AND CORE VALUES Deliver Wow through Service Embrace and Drive Change Create Fun and a Little Weirdness Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open Minded Pursue Growth and Learning Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit Do More with Less Be Passionate and Determined Be Humble 2-25 Stage 2: Setting Objectives Why set objectives? To convert the strategic vision into specific performance targets To create yardsticks to track progress and measure performance Objectives should:Be well-stated (clearly worded) Be challenging, yet achievable in order to stretch the organization to perform at its full potential Be quantifiable (measurable) Contain a specific deadline for achievement 2-26 Core Concept Objectives are an organization’s performance targets—the results management wants to achieve. 2-27 Stage 2: Setting Objectives (cont’d) What Kinds of Objectives to Set Financial objectives Communicat e management’s targets for financial performance Are lagging indicators that reflect the results of past decisions and organizational activities Relate to revenue growth, profitability, and return on investment -28 Stage 2: Setting Objectives (cont’d) What Kinds of Objectives to Set Strategic objectives Are related to a firm’s marketing standing and competitive vitality Are leading indicators of a firm’s future financial performance and business prospects. If achieved, indicate that a firm’s future financial performance will be better than its current or past performance. 2-29 Core Concept The balanced scorecard is a widely used method for combining the use of both strategic and financial objectives, tracking their achievement, and giving management a more complete and balanced view of how well an organization is performing. -30 TABLE 2. 4 The Balanced Scorecard Approach to Performance Measurement Strategic Objectives †¢ Winning an x percent m arket share †¢ Achieving customer satisfaction rates of x percent †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Increase percentage of sales coming from new products to x percent Financial Objectives †¢ An x percent increase in annual revenues †¢ Annual increases in earnings per share of x percent †¢ An x percent return on capital employed (ROCE) or shareholder investment (ROE) †¢ Bond and credit ratings of x †¢ Internal cash flows of x to fund new capital investment †¢ Improve information systems capabilities to give frontline managers Achieving a customer defect information in retention rate of x percent x minutes Acquire x number of new †¢ Improve teamwork by customers increasing the number of Introduction of x number projects involving more of new products in the than one business unit next three years to x Reduce product development times to x months 2-31 Examples of Financial ObjectivesX% increase in annual revenues X% increase annually in after-tax p rofits Profit margins of X% X% return on capital employed (ROCE) Sufficient internal cash flows to fund 100% of new capital investment 2-32 Examples of Strategic Objectives Winning an X% market share Achieving a customer retention rate of X% Acquire X number of new customers Reduce product defects to X% Introduction of X number of new products in the next three years Increase employee training to X hours/year Reduce turnover to X% per year 2-33 Examples of Company ObjectivesGeneral Motors Reduce the percentage of automobiles using internal combustion engines through the development of hybrids, range-extended electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell electric engines. Reduce automotive structural costs to benchmark levels of 23% of revenue by 2012 from 34% in 2005. Reduce annual U. S. labor costs by an additional $5 billion by 2011. 2-34 Examples of Company Objectives The Home Depot Be the number one destination for professional contractors. Improve in-stock positions so customers ca n find and buy exactly what they need.Deliver differentiated customer service and the know-how that our customers have come to expect. Repurchase $22. 5 billion of outstanding shares during 2008. Open 55 new stores with 5 store relocations in 2008. 2-35 Short-Term and Long-Term Objectives Short-Term Objectives Targets to be achieved soon Milestones or stair steps for reaching long-range performance Long-Term Objectives Targets to be achieved within 3 to 5 years 2-36 The Need for Objectives at All Organizational Levels Objectives Are Needed at All Levels 1. Set business-level objectives 2.Establish functional-area objectives 3. Set operating-level objectives last Long-term objectives take precedence over short-term objectives 2-37 Stage 3: Crafting a Strategy Crafting a strategy means asking: How to attract and please customers How to compete against rivals How to position the firm in the marketplace and capitalize on attractive opportunities to grow the business How best to respond to changing economic and market conditions How to manage each functional piece of the business How to achieve the firm’s performance targets 2-38A Firm’s Strategy-Making Hierarchy A firm’s strategy is a collection of initiatives undertaken by managers at all levels in the organizational hierarchy Crafting strategy is a collaborative effort that: Involves managers from various levels of the organization Is rarely something only highlevel executives engage in Requires choosing among the various strategic alternatives 2-39 Concept to Action In most firms, crafting strategy is a collaborative team effort that includes managers in various positions and at various organizational levels.Crafting strategy is rarely something only highlevel executives do. 2-40 Concept to Action Corporate strategy establishes an overall game plan for managing a set of businesses in a diversified, multibusiness firm. Business strategy is primarily concerned with strengthening the firm†™s market position and building competitive advantage in a single business company or a single business unit of a diversified multibusiness corporation. 2-41 FIGURE 2. 2 A Company’s Strategy-Making Hierarchy 2-42 Corporate Strategy versus Business StrategyCorporate strategy is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior executives and establishes an overall game plan for managing a set of businesses in a diversified, multibusiness company. Business strategy is primarily concerned with building competitive advantage in a single business unit of a diversified company or strengthening the market position of a nondiversified single business company. 2-43 The Strategy-Making Hierarchy Corporate strategy †¢ Is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior executives and establishes an overall game plan for managing a set of businesses in a diversified, multibusiness company. Addresses the questions of how to capture cross-business synergies, what businesses to hold or divest, which new markets to enter, and how to best enter new markets—by acquisition, creation of a strategic alliance, or through internal development. Business strategy Functional-area strategies †¢ Is primarily concerned with building competitive advantage in a single business unit of a diversified company or strengthening the market position of a nondiversified single business company. Are concerned with the strategies specifically related to particular functions or processes within a business (marketing strategy, production strategy, finance strategy, customer service strategy, product development strategy, and human resources strategy). †¢ Are relatively narrow strategic initiatives and approaches of limited scope for managing key operating units (plants, distribution centers, geographic units) and specific operating activities such as materials purchasing or Internet sales. 2-44 Operating strategies Stage 4: Implementing and Executing the Chosen StrategyManaging the strate gy execution process involves: Staffing the organization to provide needed skills and expertise. Allocating ample resources to activities critical to good strategy execution. Ensuring that policies and procedures facilitate rather than impede effective execution. Installing information and operating systems that enable personnel to perform essential activities. 2-45 Stage 4: Implementing and Executing the Chosen Strategy (con’d) Managing the strategy execution process involves: Pushing for continuous improvement in how value chain activities are performed.Tying rewards and incentives directly to the achievement of performance objectives. Creating a company culture and work climate conducive to successful strategy execution. Exerting the internal leadership needed to propel implementation forward. 2-46 Stage 5: Evaluating Performance and Initiating Corrective Adjustments Triggering change as needed: Monitoring new external developments Evaluating the firm’s progress Mak ing corrective adjustments Managing strategy is an ongoing process, not an every-now-and-then task A firm’s vision, objectives, strategy, and approach to strategy execution are never final -47 Corporate Governance: The Role of the Board Of Directors The Role of the Board Of Directors in the StrategyMaking, Strategy-Executing Process: 1. Oversee the firm’s financial accounting and reporting practices. 2. Diligently critique and oversee the company’s direction, strategy, and business approaches. 3. Evaluate the caliber of senior executives’ strategy-making and strategy-executing skills. 4. Institute a compensation plan for top executives that rewards them for actions and results that serve shareholder interests. 2-48 Strong Boards Lead to Good Corporate GovernanceA Strong, Independent Board of Directors: Is well informed about the company’s performance Guides and judges the CEO and other top executives Has the courage to curb management actions it be lieves are inappropriate or unduly risky Certifies to shareholders that the CEO is doing what the board expects Provides insight and advice to management Is intensely involved in debating the pros and cons of key decisions and actions 2-49 Leading the Strategic Management Process The Strategic Management Process calls for six managerial actions: 1.Making sure the company has a good strategic plan 2. Stay on top of what is happening (MBWA) 3. Putting constructive pressure on organizational units to achieve good results 2-50 Leading the Strategic Management Process (cont’d) The Strategic Management Process calls for six managerial actions: 4. Pushing corrective actions to improve both the firm’s strategy and how well it is being executed 5. Leading the development of better competitive capabilities 6. Displaying ethical integrity and leading social responsibility initiatives 2-51 Making Sure a Firm Has a Good Strategic PlanResponsibility of CEO Effectively communicate th e vision, objectives, and major strategy components Exercise due diligence in reviewing lower-level strategies for consistency with higher-level strategies 2-52 Staying on Top of How Well Things Are Going Stay connected to the field by managing by walking around (MBWA) Insist that top managers spend time in the trenches to exchange information and ideas through face-to-face contact with employees Prevent overly abstract thinking and getting disconnected with reality of what’s happening 2-53Pushing for Good Results and Operating Excellence Fosters a results–oriented, high-performance culture Treat employees with dignity and respect Encourage employees to use initiative and creativity in performing their work Set stretch objectives and clearly communicate expectations Focus attention on continuous improvement Reward high performance Celebrate successes 2-54 Initiating Corrective Actions to Improve Strategy and Execution The leadership challenge of making corrective adjus tments is twofold: Deciding when adjustments are needed Deciding what adjustments to makeLeader’s responsibility is to step forward and push corrective actions 2-55 Leading Social Responsibility The strength of management commitment determines whether a company will implement and execute a full-fledged strategy of social responsibility that: That protects the environment Actively participates in community affairs Supports charitable causes Supports workforce diversity and the overall well-being of employees 2-56 Displaying Ethical Integrity The CEO and other senior executives must set an excellent example in their own ethical behavior.Top management must declare unequivocal support of the company’s ethical code. Top management must be prepared to act swiftly and decisively in punishing ethical misconduct. 2-57 Leading the Development of Better Competitive Capabilities Lead efforts to strengthen existing competitive capabilities Anticipate changes in customer-market req uirements Proactively build new competencies and capabilities that hold promise for building an enduring competitive edge 2-58