Florence Bascom

Katharine Burr Blodgett Invents Non-Reflective Glass

Katharine Burr Blodgett Invents Non-Reflective Glass Katherine Burr Blodgett (1898-1979) was a woman of many firsts. She was the first female scientist hired by General Electric’s Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York (1917) as well as the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Physics from Cambridge University (1926). She was the first woman to receive the Photographic Society of America Award, and the American Chemical Society honored her with the Francis P. Garvin Medal. Her most notable discovery was in how to produce non-reflective glass. Early Life of Katharine Burr Blodgett Blodgetts father was a patent lawyer and head of the patent department at General Electric. He was killed by a burglar a few months before she was born but left enough savings that the family was financially secure. After living in Paris, the family returned to New York where Blodgett attended private schools and Bryn Mawr College, excelling at mathematics and physics. She got her masters degree from the University of Chicago in 1918 with a thesis on the chemical structure of gas masks, determining that carbon would absorb most poisonous gasses. She then went to work for the General Electric Research Lab with  Nobel Prize winner  Dr. Irving Langmuir. She completed her Ph.D. at Cambridge University in 1926. Research at General  Electric Blodgett’s research on monomolecular coatings with  Langmuir led her to a revolutionary discovery. She discovered a way to apply the coatings layer by layer to glass and metal. These thin films naturally reduce glare on reflective surfaces. When layered to a certain thickness, they completely cancel out the reflection from the surface underneath. This resulted in the world’s first 100 percent transparent or invisible glass Katherine Blodgett’s patented film and process (1938) has been used for many purposes including limiting distortion in eyeglasses, microscopes, telescopes, camera, and projector lenses.   Katherine Blodgett received U.S patent #2,220,660 on March 16, 1938, for the Film Structure and Method of Preparation or invisible, nonreflective glass. Katherine Blodgett also invented a special color gauge for measuring the thickness of these films of glass, since 35,000 layers of the film only added up to the thickness of a sheet of paper. Blodgett also made a breakthrough in developing smoke screens during World War II. Her process allowed less oil to be used as it was vaporized into molecular particles. In addition, she developed methods for deicing airplane wings. She published dozens of scientific papers over the course of her long career. Blodgett retired from General Electric in 1963.  She did not marry and lived with Gertrude Brown for many years. She acted in the Schenectady Civic Players and lived on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains.  She died at home in 1979. Her awards include the Progress Medal from the Photographic Society of America, Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society Fellow, and Boston First Assembly of American Women of Achievement honored scientist. In 2007 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Patents Granted to Katharine Burr Blodgett U.S. Patent 2,220,860: 1940: Film Structure and Method of PreparationU.S. Patent 2,220,861: 1940: Reduction of Surface ReflectionU.S. Patent 2,220,862: 1940: Low-Reflectance GlassU.S. Patent 2,493,745: 1950: Electrical Indicator of Mechanical ExpansionU.S. Patent 2,587,282: 1952: Step Gauge for Measuring Thickness of Thin FilmsU.S. Patent 2,589,983: 1952: Electrical Indicator of Mechanical ExpansionU.S. Patent 2,597,562: 1952: Electrically Conducting LayerU.S. Patent 2,636,832: 1953: Method of Forming Semiconducting Layers on Glass and Article Formed Thereby

Governance and Public Policy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Governance and Public Policy - Case Study Example This will be vital in constructing low income houses for the purpose of incorporating different races in the region. Good governance and public policing are a requirement in order to draw plans for housing which concentrate on the interests of all citizens regardless of race (Reinke 27). Good governance will ensure quality services and appropriate taxation that will benefit the city inhabitants. The principles of good governance will direct proper leadership hence initiation of public policies that are fundamental to the community (Reinke 29). These principles guide the commission in ensuring construction of structures that serve all races that reside in the city. Good governance will enhance proper spending of funds for the housing plans. The commission will have a responsibility of monitoring various budgets and plans for the project. This principle will guide various strategies that affect the community in terms of low income housing that incorporate diversity (Reinke 31). Good governance ensures effectiveness in conducting functions plus roles (Reinke 35). It ensures concise decisions in matters that relate management. Proper housing plan will be successful if these principles are in

NR 6210 Practicum Experience Summery Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NR 6210 Practicum Experience Summery - Assignment Example To start with, perinatal depression is a condition that affects women leading to major or minor depression either during the pregnancy period or within 12 months after giving birth. This is a common occurrence in women and studies have shown that minority and low-income women register most cases in the documentation patterns of screening and referral for postpartum depression. Therefore, as part of my behavioral objectives, I investigated problems associated with EPDS screenings and referral resources among low income perinatal clients in FCM. In the first day of the practicum, I was introduced to the program coordinator of FCM, Mrs. Damaris Montano who acted as my preceptor during the practicum period. The introduction was important part of the practicum since I was able to learn what it takes to run the department since my preceptor was preparing for performance review of the department that was to be carried out later. I also got a glimpse of how the internship will be carried out in the department. On the second meeting with my preceptor, I learned the administrative roles of MPH nurse at a public health department from the programs she supervised and coordinated. My receptor informed me that she coordinated 6 programs and that she ensured smooth running of the programs as part her responsibilities. To achieve this, she conducted weekly meetings with assistant supervisors in order to discuss issues concerning operation of the program. In addition, we decided to be meeting on Thursdays in preference of FCM program so that I could start reviewing old postpartum EDPS. On another aspect, I also identified some leadership gaps that could be addressed in management of FCM program. In one of the Health Works program staff meeting, a case worker presented an issue to my preceptor that involved a pediatric doctor who did not respond as required on an issue

MRKT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

MRKT - Research Paper Example As a result of this revolution, the world has been automatically transformed into a single well connected global entity. It needs special highlighting of the fact that the technological revolution that has affected both the developed as well as the developing markets has brought a tremendous change in the nature and behaviour of the masses around the world. The consumers and masses of the present day increasingly prefer to live a dual life. This dual life promotes physical presence in the real world as well as virtual presence in the internet connected world. In order to stay connected to their virtual selves in the virtual world, the masses prefer to use various smart technology devices like Smartphones, I-pads, tablets. It is highly interesting to mention that the intense acceptance and usage of the technological devices has resulted in enormous acceptance of the multiple social networking sites. From the marketing point of view, it has to be said that for the purpose of better com munication of value to the customers as well as the target audience, creation of relevant product which will satisfy the needs existing in the market is of tremendous importance. For the purpose of acquiring knowledge and needs of the masses, it becomes highly essential on the part of the marketers to engage in the process of market research. Recognizing the trend of the young consumers to stay online for a considerable part of the day as well as night, marketers entitled with the responsibility of communicating the values of various kinds of products and services, are focusing on the process of engaging with their customers through the online platform. The online marketers in order to attract more and more of the online target audience are designing various kinds of interesting web enabled applications which automatically collects and tracks the users data as well as various other relevant specification. Needless to mention that in the bid to browse the highly interesting applicati ons, the online community of consumers ends up revealing a considerable amount of personal data. This essential data is being mined by the data scientists and data experts using the technology of Big Data. However, it has to be mentioned that the needs and demand related to normal products and services is highly different as compared to products and services that belongs to the health care sector. It has to be stated that for the purpose of significant understanding of the attitudes of the public as well as the trends of the consumers in regards to various healthcare products and services, a much specialised kind of research and market survey has to be conducted. While discussing about the various kinds of research data that is often considered by the private as well as government organizations belonging to the healthcare sector, the focus and importance has to be given on health survey data, general consumer based information as well as administrative data which is resulted from mu ltiple health care delivery systems (Goodby and et.al, 15). For the purpose of generation of relevant data, organizations belonging to the healthcare category often collect a lot of data which are generated as a possible by product of various operations of the organization. Now with the fast changing consumer needs and demands, the organizations providing services and products of the health care s

UK Mixed Economy: Advantages and Disadvantages

UK Mixed Economy: Advantages and Disadvantages OBJECTIVES England is a country of 63.7 million people. Her economy is the largest economy of the four countries of the UK. UK has importance in textiles and chemical products, beside these the automobiles, locomotives and aircrafts are also the important industrial products. UNITED KINGDOM has the the 3rd in the Europe and 6th largest national economy in the world by the nominal GDP. ENGLAND is a mixed economy’s country, beside other country such as ICELAND, SWEDEN, FRANCE UNITED STATES, RUSSIA, CHINA and HONG KONG. These are the countries’ economy is mixed, in those economy society some of the part is manged by the government and the rest it controlled by the private firms and the individuals. Being the mixed economy the ENGLAND has to face some advantage and the some disadvantage. In below we will find its total idea. Definition of pure command, free market and the mixed economy Pure command economy: When any economy is fully controlled by the government, the government decide the allocation of the resourses and they answer the three questions of allocation. This type of economy is theoretical extreme example of economy, it the real world it does not exits, we just use this type of theoretical example for the comparison of the real world economy. Through laws, restrictions, regulations and the involuntary taxes the government force all allocation. In this type of economy the Government set the rules for the people, and if they do not follow the rules they will be punished. The communistic CHAINA and the former SOVIET UNION are the good example for the pure command economy. Five characteristics of the pure command economy According to the need of the nations the government provides the goods The government regulated the all price and moreover the public good will be the available for the public needs The salaries, wealth will be the same for every body There will be common goals, the technology will be seen the greater advantage because of the resources are being allocated correctly to achieve the goal No unfinished project, no inflation and the low unemployment. Free market: This type of economy is based on with the little or without any government control on the supply and the demand. In this type of economy market, the buyers and the sellers are allowed to business freely, where the mutual understanding on price is found and we will not find any form of taxes, subsides or regulations. In the simple way a full free market is summary term for an array of exchanges that take place in society, here the agreement is free and mutual understanding for service or good between two parties . Mixed economy: In the mixed economy system we will see variety of the government and the private control, its looks like the combination of the socialism and the capitalism. We can’t find a single mixed economy’s definition, where we will find a degree of the government regulation of the markets and the a degree of the economy freedom. We can describe the mixed economy as the market economies with the strong administrative overlooking. England as a mixed economy England has the one of the biggest economics of the world, in this economy the Private and the Public contribution is same. Here the public ownership has been reducing since last two decades. While England was first industrialization in the 1800, the economy of England has shifted towards the service sectors over the years.While the industrialization was growing up rapidly, the service sectors were also developing significantly. Under the government of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the most of the state owned enterprises in the service and the industrial sectors were privatised since it was nationalised at 1940s. Now UK government owns very few of the industries such as the Royal mail. Advantages of Mixed Economy There are many reasons why many country choose the mixed economy for the economic development. In below we can see some discussion about that. (1) Job security To maximise the profits is the aim of the private firms, they are sensitive to the market.During the boom time, when the demand of service and the goods are going up, the employment of the job market rise quickly, but when the market is down like the recession period the private company will not keep the excess labour as it will increase the production cost, for this reason the private workers works in a higher risk of unemployment. On the other hand the government sector, they have to follow the labour and the laws, in the government sector they have to appointment new employees every year, and the certain number of workers will get the promotion every year. As in the government invested company the chance of unemployment is very slim, people are not in risk in the retrenched. Therefore in the mixed economy, it is very important to have the part of government involvement for the security of the people’s life style. (2) Avoid exploitation As we know that, the private enterprise is always oriented for the profit, so they never give the priority about the basic rights of human being, such as education, health care, may be they give very few concentrations about those matters. If this problems and negligence always continuing, it will widen the gap of literacy rate and income inequality between the two society of lower and the upper social class. For this reason in the mixed economy society, the government setup the many facilities such as NHS and the various higher institution to narrow the gap. (3) Regulation of monopoly firms When there is a single seller for the service or the goods in the market we called it monopolist, if a company has the control on the market over than 25% we can consider it as a monopoly, it is the example of the classic market failure, by the business sense. The cost efficient has less of incentive as in the monopoly market the monopolist don’t have that much competition or no competitions, to over come this problems the government can make the product market bigger. To do this, the government can breaking down the barriers to entry and to make the other firms encourage the government can make contest in the market, this type of tape can boost the market supply and in this way the consumers can get the service or the goods in the cheaper price, the competitions, productivity and the investment can be increase by this type of actions. In UK there are some regulators such as Ofwat.ORR, Ofcom who are doing the privatising . (4) Economic policy In many responsibilities of government the economic policy is the one of the biggest. As  the Government and the state economic advisers are overlooking the economic conditions of the country, they can propose or invest more money for the public sectors, such as they can invest money for the road constrictions, repairing or making building or the bridge, in these ways they can make more job opportunities for the betterment of the public economy or we can say to make more jobs. On the other hand the government can lower the tax for the increase the buying power of the people. We can give here a good example, THE BANK OF ENGLAND has reduced the interest rate for the people as they can borrow more money and can setup more business, that will be increase the job sector. On the other side we can see that the private sectors are only invest for make the money, they are not involving their money for the economy development of the society, in the other way they are not capable to over come the government’s financial capability. (5) Regulation of water and air pollution In aspect environmental matter, the private companies are acting as â€Å" Environmental Villain†, for their own profit the private enterprise always using the dear natural resources, continuously. They are consuming the natural resource and then eject the smoke, dumping the polluted solid wastes insensibly and also pouring out the nature destroying liquid . This type of private enterprise producers are said to be only concern about the MPB (Marginal Private Benefits) and the MPC (Marginal Private costs) in their decision making. This way the government should be mediate, could be set some type of the agreements with the private companies. For paradigm, the UK government is in a agreement to the Global and the European for the reducing target of the emergence of carbon dioxide by 80% in the time of 2050. In the year 2002 the European government introduced a scheme named ETS (Emission carbon trading), in the aim of limiting the outflow of the carbon from the big industries such as the energy, glass, brick making, steel and others. As this emission carbon trading has the positive effect on the nature, many other countries are introducing this type of the program in there country. (6) Narrowing income inequality If we see the in the pure capitalist economy society, we will see that the rich people are getting more richer and the poor are getting more poor. As less or no intervention in this type of economy after a certain time we will see the pyramid of the income distribution, in this pyramid, a large proportion of the people’s wealth and the GDP is control by the very few of the rich people. The income can be distributed by the involving of the state, first is the introduction of the dynamic tax system, where the rich people have to pay greater amount of the tax, beside this the national minimum wage also have the great effects on the economic development. In UK the minimum wage is increasing every year, on the other hand the unemployment, sickness benefits also help to reduce the distance and the bad effects of the economic deference between the poor and the rich people. More over this type of the government involvement can balance the national economy in the mixed economic states. (7) Provision of public goods dynamic there are two features of the public goods, the 1st one is the non rivalry, it means that the amount of the goods for the other users will not decrease even though whatever the consumption of the public goods. Beside this non-excludability is the another one. If one time this type of facility provided, no one will be slipped from the benefit. The private company will not be interested fro this type of the benefits of the free riders or the publics. For the definition of the free rider we know that he who get the benefits from a area but not doing any contribution to it, actually if we count the end result of having the benefited, no one will pay for the facilities. Here the government has to pay it from the money of the taxpayers’, for the example of this type of the benefits is the public road, bridge, lighting on the streets and also we can mention here national defense. Disadvantages of Mixed Economy Even though there are many economic facilities in the mixed economy policy but besides this we can see some of the economic crisis what England have to face for being mixed economy country. In below there is some discussion about the coming disadvantage What collisions could be happen In the mixed economy we can see the balance between the capitalism and the socialism, the mixed economy tries to help for the advantage of the capitalism and the socialism, this aim can be understood if there is good combination and the understanding but the real situation is, there is continuous encounters going on between the two sectors. This can make the situation more bitter and the noncompliance. Some time the private sectors can think that the public sectors are having more priority than them. It could be happen some time that the public sectors tries to avoid their worthleness and the wastefulness to the private sectors. In a one word the faithfulness and the mutual understanding none can really works perfectly in this situation, Insubstantial The mixed economy is base on the two inimical ideologies, those are absolutely opposite to each other. Though the mixed economy tries to combine the two different ideology together but mixed economy can be find doing less to both of them. For the conflict in terms, the mixed economy has been criticized. For detail, there can’t be the middle way in between the central direction and the atomistic competition. For the mixed economy there will be the mixed of the central direction and the competition but the mixed economy can not works good. If they are incomplete, the competition and the central direction become poor, and than they used the inefficient tools. After this, they used the alternative principles to minimized the problems, and the mixer of the two meaning that none of them will work properly. If the two systems relays on each other the result will be worse. Nature of short live From the above discussions we can see that the mixed economy always runs on the risk of the nature of the short lived. As the time passes by, a violent struggle chases between the two sectors for the name of the supremacy. The state may be fall into fail to regulate the private sector properly when this sector is flourishing. On the other hand if the public sector loses the power, the mixed economy can turn in to a capitalist economy, and it can be a socialist economy if the public sectors become more powerful. The symbol of the weakness Some people says that the mixed economy has a disease as the capitalist, and the â€Å"Socialisation of investment† is one of the attempts to restore it. In this way of view the mixed economy is the diseased phase of the capitalist economy, for this reason it called as â€Å" Capitalism in the oxygen tent. By this sense the mixed economy is the spurious capitalism. Endangers freedom Capitalism. It could be happen that a mixed economy can go into or lead to abridgement of freedom of the individual. It also feared that the control of the economic life and the problems into the planning can lead the mixed economy in such a position where the individual could lose the identity. Inefficiency of the public sector There is a record of the poor performance in the mixed economy. Redtapism, waste, corruption and the inefficiency is the main point ; by those, the mixed economy suffers with. Therefore the public sectors suffer from two reason, To increase production volume or Reducing the cost. Failure for pluck up the economic inconstancy The theory of mixed economy has become popular in many countries, spatially in the capitalist; as this economic policy is believe to be the good solution for pluck up the economic inconstancy, but somehow the economic problem still goes all the way. The economic inconstancy can be cut out only when the central plan can cover the entire economy, but in the mixed economy, the kind of regimentations those are assigned on the private sector leaves much to be intention.

LOreal Case Study :: essays research papers

Recognizing the increasing rate of obesity in both children and adults Effortless Innovations, was founded with the goal of decreasing the obesity rate of both children and adults by providing quality exercise equipment for both children and their parents that promote physical activity both indoors and outdoors. Due to the recent increase in the popularity of video games, our company is forced to compete with them in order to make our products more appealing to our target market. It is a trampoline that is surrounded by a protective covering to prevent accidental injury. The jump-o- line also has a carb counter as well as a CD player featured on the side so that you can keep track of how much fat you are burning as well as have music to entertain yourself. The jump-o-line is available in different sizes the standard being 12 foot but 10 and 14 foot also available. We would be targeting parents as well as children. The jump-o-line would be to promote parents and children exercising outdoors together. We would try to make this product as affordable as possible in order to encourage its usage by people from every economic background. One demographic factor that we are taking in to consideration is age; the group that we are targeting is children ages 8-13. We would be targeting the southern and western states because of their warmer climate, which makes our product ideal for outside fun for the entire family. Children and Parents are increasingly overweight; this would promote physical activity as well as encourage parents and children to play, interact and exercise together. Consumers of all races as economic classes could benefit from this product. However, we would be targeting the individuals and families in the working class. The trampoline is a product that is already in existence but we believe that with a few minor changes (CD player and carbohydrate counter) the Jump-o-line will boost the popularity with children. The major competitors to the Jump-o-line are the other trampoline providers such as: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  38† Mini Trampoline available at Goods and Deeds for $29.99 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jumpking 15’ Trampoline and Trampoline enclosure available at Elite Deals for $549.95 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Land Trampoline 12’available at KB toys for $199.99 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trampoline plus Enclosure Combo available at JCPenny for $299.99 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gaiam Trampoline- Yoga Yoga Gear available at Wal-Mart for $99.95 All of the current competitors sell the idea of fun and excitement. However, the Jump-o-line offers much more and in some cases a more reasonable price.

AIS Implementation Case Study

Steve Cowan is the owner of a distribution company of salon hair products. The company, Professional Salon Concepts, (PSC) was growing and decided to upgrade their AIS to support the demands of the company. Steve hired Mike, his brother-in-law to assist him and the two of them began to research the different products available believing they could better determine the needs of the company than a consultant could. After a short time they bought first one and then changing their minds and bought a second system. After a short training period the new system was installed with some very problematic first few days. Eventually the system was up and running but never fully doing what they had originally wanted from the new system. Romney & Steinbart (2009). Implementing new AIS is something that businesses everywhere have to consider at some point and time. The case of PSC and how they went about choosing and implementing their AIS is what we will be looking at. There are six main points of consideration I will be covering in this study. The first is a look at how good of a job PSC did in selecting, installing and implementing their new system. We will look at what they did wrong and what they could have done differently. We will try to determine how PSC could have avoided the missing features, the conversion and reporting problems they had. Next we will review Steve’s analysis of his numbers and determine if his conclusions were correct. Looking at his new shipping system we want to see if there is a way that PSC’s customers can defraud the company. Finally, we will take a look at the level of service PSC received from the company where they purchased their new AIS and how it could have been improved. Steve’s Assessment Selecting the New AIS PSC spent months researching software and attending demonstrations. While doing research on their own is not a bad thing they however dismissed the possible use of consultants. Again not always a bad thing but when they did their research, it is not clear if they had a confirmed set of requirements of their needs in the new AIS. As a result PSC never compared companies through a request for proposals, (RFP); if they had they could have sent their requirements to the vendors. The vendors would then have sent back their proposals to PSC. After eliminating vendors that do not meet the minimum requirements, PSC could then do a comparison of the remaining vendors before making a final decision. Romney & Steinbart (2009). The key is the set requirements and minimum standards they were willing to settle for. In the end they had decided on one system, paid for it and had started installing it when they changed their minds and went with a different company. The company, DSM was chosen almost on a whim. DSM could not demonstrate all of the features PSC had wanted and took a reassurance that they would get those features without documentation. PSC also did not do an extensive background check into DSM before they purchased the new AIS. Installation Installation and implementing of the new AIS was anything but smooth. In retrospect even Steve knew they did not take the time needed to properly test or to train employees on how to use the new system. Three months was not sufficient time to try and work out the possible problems they would have with the new AIS. While Steve felt that training was very important he greatly underestimated the amount of time that was needed for proper training of employees on the new systems. The operators should have been involved from the beginning to determine what was needed and how it was being implemented into the new AIS. Each of these operators should also have been included in the design of the interface they would be using. If their input was not a possible part of the design they should have at the very least been included in the original installation and testing part of the new systems to determine what the possible problem failures would be and to better learn the new systems. Missing Features How could PSC have avoided the problem of the missing features? If PSC had gotten RFPs the problem of missing features in the system they chose would have been eliminated during the vendor selection process. However, in the route they did take those features that were important to Steve but were not included in the AIS could have been included by having a systems requirements list and a written contract with the specifications explicitly written out. Conversion and Reporting How could PSC have avoided some of the conversion and reporting problems it faced? As I stated before, more time was needed in the testing and training portion of the conversion before the new AIS went online. One trick I learned from our own system change at the city I work in is to train a few operators on the new systems during the testing phase and then have them train a few more in their own departments. By using your own employees to train each other they are gaining a better understanding of how the system works. This way on the day of the change you have more people who understand the system and how to fix or correct the things that can go wrong. The more people you can have trained this way before the system change the better off you will be at the critical moment. Steve’s Analysis Steve’s analysis of the numbers is incomplete in my opinion. Steve looked only at the initial cost of the package but he did not look at recurring costs of up keep of the hardware and software, systems maintenance, conversion cost, training expense, cost of running the testing phase as well as several other things. The conversion alone cost him a 15% drop in sales and none of these expenses were calculated into the cost of the new AIS. Steve and Mike should have consulted an accountant to help with the crunching of numbers before they had purchased the AIS from DSM. One other mistake they made in this purchase was not to have the extra features written into a contract as a part of the cost. Shipping and Fraud Is there a way PSC could be defrauded by the new multi-box shipments? After looking online for ways the only thing I could come up with was for the customers to claim that not all of the boxes were received. Because they only require one packing slip for multiple boxes, one of the boxes could just not make it to the stores or items could go missing from the shipments. I don’t think it would be hard to say that one of four or five boxes was missing an item. Without a packing slip in each box it would be easy for something to be overlooked when they are being packed. I’m not sure if there is another way the multi-box one packing slip approach could be defrauded. Level of Service On a level of one to five, one being the best, I would probably rate DSMs level of service about three. DSM was not the worst company I have read about but they could have stepped up their service. One of the things they could improve on is their training. Training was something of a disaster judging from the first day. More of the employees should have been trained and trained much better than they were. Another area of improvement would be in the testing phase of the installation before the new system went online. The sales person made assurances that it was apparent after the fact that they had no right to made or no intention of keeping. The extra features that PSC was told would be included in their package were only going to be added for an extra fee that PSC would have to shoulder the majority of. One feature was added at an additional cost of ten thousand but the second feature was never added. Conclusions In the end Steve was satisfied with the new AIS. While the new AIS did decrease the turnaround time to only twenty minutes from five hours it never did do all the things they had wanted. PSC is negotiating with DSM to write the programs that will complete the processes he wants the AIS system to do, for an additional cost. Upgrading from the system they had was necessary but, I can’t help wondering if they wouldn’t have been better off sticking with the original $20,000 purchase and having a company write the programs they were missing. The price PSC paid for the AIS from DSM was rather steep in comparison. In the end Steve said he was satisfied but I have to wonder if he really was or if he was just trying to feel ok with what had happened and what he paid.

CEO in the making Essays

CEO in the making Essays CEO in the making Essay CEO in the making Essay Strategic Human Resource Management (MHR 705/305H) University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business spring 2007 PROFESSOR professor Barry Gerhart 4194 Grainger Hall; Office: 262-3895; Home: 277-1061; [emailprotected] wisc. edu CLASS MEETINGS 8:00 5, Tuesday Thursday, 2165 Grainger Hall OFFICE HOURS 1 1 12:45, Tuesday Thursday, or by appointment. PREREQUISITE An introductory statistics course and ability to use Microsoft Excel. OVERVIEW This course is designed to develop an understanding of how human resource decisions contribute to business performance. No business strategy can be uccessfully executed unless the right people are in place and they are given the opportunity and incentive to contribute to executing the strategy. OBJECTIVES Specific learning objectives include the ability to: Create alignment between human resource strategies and business strategies in a cost-effective manner. Design work systems and roles that allow employees to contribute to organization performance. Identify, select, and develop people having the competencies that allow them to contribute to organization performance. Use compensation and other HR systems that provide rewards and incentives to ttract and retain employees and to encourage them to contribute to organization Understand how an employment relationship is like a contract and how the nature of this contract is evolving and taking different forms. Make human resource decisions that are legal and ethical. Learn how to use quantitative tools and information where appropriate to support decisions. GENERAL Class attendance and participation are expected. Assignments are due letter grade per day will be assessed on assignments handed in after that time. You must take the final exam at the scheduled time. Assignments and the exam should be identified by placing your name on the back of the last page. TEXT Noe, R. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Gerhart, B. , Wright, P. (2006). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. Chicago: Irwin. 5th Edition. ISBN 0-07-298738-3. Several copies of this book are available from the Business School Library in case you decide not to purchase the book. Let me know if more reserve copies are needed. Class sessions will not rely heavily on the text. It will more often be a source of more detailed information on topics we cover in class as well as a source of additional company examples. PACKETS Two packets can be purchased in the room adjacent to the Business School Copy Center on the first floor: (1) Harvard cases, and (2) course topic outlines. A third set of materials, readings, and assignments is available online at the course website (see below). E-RESERVESAvailable through MYUW. ASSIGNMENTS Case write-ups (3). Please submit written analyses of Au Bon Pain, Citibank, and GEs Talent Machine: The Making ofa CEO. Each case write-up is to be completed as an individual assignment or you may work with one or two other persons. (If the latter, submit one write-up. ) As noted earlier, this and other ssignments should be identified by placing your name on the back of the last page. The cases will be discussed in class the day they are due. As such, the case write-up must be submitted at the beginning of class. The remaining cases on the syllabus are for class discussion only. No written assignment is required. Write-ups should be no longer than two double-spaced pages of text (normal fonts and margins). A one-page exhibit should also be used to summarize the Roles, Rewards, and People aspects of the HR Diamond (to be introduced in class). The most important parts of your write-up are the Alignment nd Application sections. Write-ups should incorporate relevant issues from the textbook and class (Application), as well as your own insights and analyses. The text section of your write-up should include areas A C (see below) as headings. The exhibit section of your report should have headings corresponding to D F (see below). Format and grading criteria for case write-ups: A. Business Strategy (10 points) Briefly describe the generic strategy (e. g. , cost, differentiation) the firm uses to compete in its product market. Then, be more specific: What is unique about its product or its customer experience? B. Alignment (30 points) How do roles, rewards, and people practices (HR strategy) support the business strategy? Use the HR Diamond. C. Application (30 points) (1) Apply concepts/models/theories or examples from text and class. (Company As compensation system consistent/inconsistent with theory. ) (2) Note similarities/differences (and their reasons) when compared to other companies we discuss. Company A pays employees based on _ rather than using the _ compensation approach favored at Company A because it is important that Company A whereas Company (3) Identify problems with the HR strategy. Company As decision to pay managers based on _ runs the risk of II. Exhibit/Table Section of Report (1 page maximum) (20 points) D. Roles Identify/list the most imp ortant aspects of how work is organized. E. Rewards Identify/list the most important aspects of the incentives used. F. People Identify/list the most important aspects of competencies people need and how people are selected and developed to have these competencies. A final grading criterion used is: Readability (10 points) Organization of paper, including headings. Effective communication of ideas. Problem Sets (4). You may do these as individual assignments or you may work with ne or two other persons. (If the latter, submit one write-up. ) An example of each will be provided in class or in a handout. For each problem set, there is either an example discussed in class or a detailed example included in the problem set assignment. If you need help with the problem sets, do not hesitate to email me or come by my office. It is important to quantify the result of human resource decisions to the extent possible. The problem sets provide examples of how quantitative data can be used to make better human resource decisions. Policy Evaluation Presentation. This is a team assignment. Your team should consist of 2 to 4 people. For this assignment, explain why a change in business strategy or lack of fit with business strategy created a need for an HR policy change. Evaluate the effectiveness of the new human resource policy introduced in an organization and present your findings to the class Final Exam. There is a final, comprehensive, in-class exam. The exam will re-visit cases and problem sets from the term and other issues covered in class. The exam is an individual task. Based on past semesters, regular class attendance is associated GRADING case Analyses (3) Problem Sets (4) 30 % Final Team Presentation (including peer evaluation) 15 % Final Exam 25% Attendance/Contribution to Class DiscussionComes into play if within . 5 of next grade. A 92. 5- AB87. 5 92. 4 B 82. 5-87. 4 BC77. 5 82. 4 Et cetera Course Schedule Week 1 Introduction Jan. 3 Note: For most weeks, there will be readings (mostly newspaper articles and brief magazine articles) available on your MylJW website, in addition to those listed below. Please read these additional articles each week as well. HR Strategy (HR Diamond) Jan. 25 Text, Chapters 1, 2 Reading: Right Away and All at Once: How We Saved Continental. Harvard Business Review. [available via e-reserves website] Reading: Barney, J. B. Wright, P. M. On Be coming a Strategic Partner: The Role of Human Resources in Gaining Competitive Advantage. Human Resource Management, Spring 1998, Volume 37, No. 1, pp. 1-46. [available via e-reserves website] Reading (optional): Becker, B. Huselid, M. (2003, December). Measuring HR? Benchmarking Is Not the Answer! HR Magazine, pp. 57-61. Reading (optional): Walker, G. MacDonald, J. R. (2001, Winter). Designing and Implementing an HR Scorecard. Human Resource Management, 40(4), 365-377. week 2 Case: Human Resources at Southwest Airlines Feb. 1 Roles Text, Chapter 4 (pp. 145-151 on Job Analysis; pp. 158-166 on Job Design; pp. 167-168 on HR at IBM only) Reading: Whole Foods is All Teams. FastCompany. Reading/Optional: The Anarchists Cookbook. FastCompany. Whole Foods] Reading/Optional: Love the Worker, Not the Union, A StoreSays As Some Organize [Whole Foods] week 3 Feb. 6 Rewards Case Write-Up: Au Bon Pain Feb. 8 People: Commitment Reading: Ittner Larcker. Coming up Short on Financial Measures. Harvard Business Review. Reading (optional): Barber Strack. The Surprising Economics ofa People Business. Harvard Business Review. Wee k 4 Feb. 13 People: Competencies Measures: Competencies (including personality) Feb. 15 Planning Text, Chapter 5 (pp. 174-193 only) Problem Set 1 Due: The value of favorable employee attitudes week 5 Feb. 0 Recruiting Retention Text, Chapter 5 (pp. 194-208 only) Text, Chapter 10 Reading: The 100 best companies to work for in America, Fortune [available via e- reserve] Case: SG Cowen: New Recruits [bring your ratings of the four candidates] Feb. 22 Staffing/Globalization Text, Chapter 7 (PP. 302-306 only) Text, Chapter 1 5 Reading: Four Seasons Goes to Paris. Academy of Management Executive. Reading: More Flexibility by Europes Labor Stokes a Recovery. Wall Street Journal. Reading: Deep Inside China, American Family Struggles to Cope. Wall Street week 6 Feb. 7 Staffing/EEO Issues Text, Chapter 3 March 1 Staffing/EEO Issues Problem Set 2 Due: P lanning headcount needs. March 6 Staffing/Selection Text, Chapter 6 Reading: Employers Gauge Candidates Skills at Real-World Tasks . wall Street Journal. March 8 Staffing/Selection Wee k 8 March 13 Assessing Performance Text, Chapter 8 Case Write-Up: Citibank March 1 5 Pay-setting Merit Pay Text, Chapter 1 1 Case: Merck Wee k 9 March 20 Incentive Pay: Upside Potential Text, Chapter 12 Reading: The Art Of Motivation: What you can learn from a company that treats workers like owners. Inside the surprising performance culture of steelmaker Nucor. Business Week. Case: Lincoln Electric March 22 Incentive Pay: Downside Risks Reading: Hastings, D. F. (1999). Lincoln Electrics harsh lessons from international expansion. Harvard Business Review, May-June, 163-178. Reading: Kerr, S. (2003). The Best-Laid Incentive Plans. Harvard Business Review. Problem Set 3 Due: The value of accurate employee selection decisions. March 27 Benefits Text, Chapter 13 (skim only) Case: SAS Institute March 29 Training Development Text, Chapter 7 (PP. 55-280; 298-302 only) week 11 SPRING BREAK (April 3 5) week 12 April 10 Staffing and Development/ln-basket exercise April 12 Career Management Succession Planning Text, Chapter 9 (PP. 396-417) Case Write-Up: GEs Talent Machine: The Making ofa CEO. week 13 April 17 Employee Relations Legal Issues: Union and Nonunion Employees Text, Chapter 14 Text, review Chapter 10 (pp. 427-433 only) April 19 Mergers Acquisitions HR Strategy (HR Diamond): Review Exam Review Problem Set 4 Due: Invest in Training? week 14 April 24 Work Day week 1 5 May 1 May 3 week 16 May 8 May 10 Policy Presentations Exam

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Malacandras Society The inhabitants of Malacandra society cannot be considered as persons just as we are. There is no form of hierarchy that exists in Malacandra. The inhabitants of Malacandra do not have awareness like human beings. The form of reasoning that the inhabitants have does not compare to the level of reasoning that humans have developed throughout evolution. Ones imagination inclines through formal knowledge that the inhabitants of Malacandra cannot be consider civilized human beings. Formal knowledge is the recollection of experiences by the five senses of touch, see, hearing, smelling and tasting. One can assume with formal knowledge on the degree of dignity that one shall bestow on the inhabitants of Malacandra lesser than the degree of dignity that one accords to humans.An organic objects survival and development is dependent on their ability to tone their sensory to the world around them. Animals and humans alike, depend on their senses for survival.2008 Mingdau University Fashion Fusi on Show: The O...The inhabitants of Malacandra depend on their senses for survival like in the beginning of the book when the creatures try to make contact to Weston, Devine and Ransom because they are alien to the planet of Malacandra. The firing of the revolver was a sign of aggression towards the creatures so they had to defend themselves amongst the intruders. Ramsom manages to escape from his kidnappers and wonders off into the land of Malacandra. Ransom meets Hross, the seal like inhabitant of Malacandra. As Ransom spends time with Hross and his species, one can conclude through formal knowledge that the inhabitants of Malacandra could not be treated with the same dignity that one shall treat a human being.The Malacandra society does not have a hierarchy in which the human beings in earth, Thulcandra, live by. The inhabitants of Malacandra are...

Business letter Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business letter - Assignment Example The duties of my current project include maintaining the road and infrastructure in the town (including the tasks of road repairing, snow clearing, grinding gravel roads in summer, cutting grass on town property, etc.). My team has been working very honestly in my supervision, but some problems have been encountered in the management of the work load effectively resulting in getting over budgets and hiring more labors. Firstly, the winter season of the town is very severe for the laborers, as some of them belong to warm regions leading to their inefficiency at the work place and frequent medical issues specially reporting high fever and cold. To fill the gap of absent laborers, new laborers could be hired to replace them. Secondly, the Christmas event is very near, but the work load is more than expected because of more snowfall in this season than before. To complete the projects before the Christmas event, overtime shifts are introduced, which has caused over budget expenditures. Thirdly, the provided machinery for weather related problems was not working efficiently to control the freeze drainage culverts related issues. There was the need of high pressure steam machine, which was not available. So, the extra expenditures were spent on the purchase of new steam pressure parts for freeze drainage and ice on the

Conslusions on the psychological Affects of same sex parents ont he Essay

Conslusions on the psychological Affects of same sex parents ont he psychological development of Children - Essay Example However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the social responsibility of the laws and court systems on the development experienced by children in the aforementioned families and how these culturally discriminating forces affect the sense of security that is necessary for successful growth. Therefore, the purpose of the proposed study is to examine previously recorded research that can be associated and correlated to determine the affect of living in a household that is not universally accepted as legitimate. By studying the research of a variety of topics related to this issue, a conclusion will be made in regard to the impact this issue has on the psychological influence on children raised by same-sex parents. Findings from this research will help clarify the social responsibility that may or may not be neglected by the current legal system. Findings from this research will help clarify what steps may be recommended to governmental agencies and law ma kers that will ensure the security and safety of these children in order to provide a more stable and secure environment to promote a successful development within the family structure. The issue of familial rights within homosexual partnerships have raised sociological questions that have proponents for and against marriage between couples of the same sex. As families of non-traditional forms are being created and sustained, the issue of child development within a non-traditional structure becomes a relevant social issue. The study of children who are raised in families that are comprised of two same sex parents who are also life-partners can answer questions of the affect that a non-traditional parental pair can have on the psychology created by that environment. In order to study the psychological affect of two parents who maintain a homosexual relationship on a child who is raised by those parents, one must take into consideration