What is Virtue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

What is Virtue - Essay Example The Meno asserts that virtues share a unit form, compelling individuals to work towards a specific goal: the wellbeing of the individual and the city (72c7, 72d8, and 72e5). Subsequently, the Meno attributes an excellent person as one characterized by the virtue of doing noble deeds. The Meno attributes noble deeds as activities meant to do good to the individual himself and the city. This stipulates that an excellent person is one who would chooses the noble over the ignoble, even though it entails sacrificing his will for what is ideally good and benefits the greater society. Virtues are evidenced by an individual’s ability to sacrifice for the greater good (77b2-b5). Additionally, Meno agrees with Socrates that virtue is prudence and knowledge. He affirms that an excellent person is one who has the knowledge and can tell apart what is right from what is wrong. Consequently, an excellent person is one who is prudent, exhibiting caution in his activities (89a3-5, c2-4). Aristotle defines a virtue as a mean. He outlines that an excellent person is characterized by the ability to steer between two extreme points. Aristotle asserts that the ability to arrive at the mean is pleasant for any excellent person and it is not aimed at causing him pain (1120a27-28). He attributes this mean as an attribute of an excellent person who depicts courage by avoiding too fearful and consequently not engaging in fearful events. He attributes an excellent person as one who maintains his temper by not being extremely angry, but getting angry enough (1106a26-28 and 1106b20). In conjunction, Aristotle documents that the goals of a person’s behavior are for either his own good or the greater good depending on the circumstance that the individual was faced with. Activities, which their goodness depends upon circumstances (external goods), are stipulated by Aristotle as wealth, friendship, strength, honor,

NewEgg Essay Example for Free

NewEgg Essay NewEgg. com is the fastest computer software and hardware retailer online store. Newegg. com is a leading e-retailer committed to becoming the most loved and trusted marketplace on the web by offering superior shopping experience, rapid delivery, and stellar customer service. NewEgg. com was founded by Fred Chang in 2001 running operation in California. As today NewEgg. com has more than 11 million registered users and has managed to gain their trust as the customer gets excellent service, fast process and delivery. Newegg. com has implemented a tracking system that allows them to fulfill and process orders, allocate parts needed in a fast and organized way to save time. The system makes an accurate forecast that let them know to refill their inventory and workload as needed. Once the order gets entered the system labels and assigns a tote that moves on a conveyor system to a pick up area where parts get scanned along the tote and order gets filled. By doing so it keeps the inventory controlled and parts bins get refilled as inventory gets low. The company reduces the operational cost by monitoring orders and work loads, if an area gets busy its easy for the managers to re assign operators to move and reduce the work load in that area. Conveyors not in used the systems stops the automatically to save energy. UPS and FedEx make almost 10 stops a day bringing parts and making pick ups to deliver customers. High percentage of orders gets processed and leaves facilities within the same day and makes it to the customer by the second business days and just about the 10 percentage the customer gets it by the third day.

The Cause of Voter Apathy in Canada Essay -- Cause and Effect Essays

What causes voter apathy? Why, in the most recent federal and provincial elections, did roughly 40% of eligible voters stay home? Perhaps candidate A, running for party A led by leader A, is not perceived as being significantly different from, or better than, candidate B, running for party B led by leader B. This lack of perceived difference between candidate-party-leader A and candidate-party-leader B, is not the only problem in an election. It is also impossible to vote directly on an issue. Yes, you can let an issue influence how you vote, but on election day you are forced to endorse one candidate, party and leader and repudiate all other candidates, parties and leaders. Issues take a back seat to personalities. In theory, voters can have their specific concerns addressed during an election. But that's not reality. Elections simply do not provide voters with a direct say on any issue. Rather, elections are centered on personalities. The real question, the only real choice, is as to which party should run the province or the country. A vote for an Opposition Party candidate is a vote to replace the Government Party, and a vote for the Government Party candidate is a rejection of the Opposition Parties' bid for power. But Canadians cannot use their ballots to implement - or to reject - any specific policy concerning health, education, labour, social services, the criminal justice system, fiscal issues, the environment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, etc. Total control remains with the politicians up to five years at a time. And when voting day finally arrives, issues are drowned out by one big question: which leader/party should be the Government/Premier, or the Government/Prime Minister? Even when issues are ... ...vote for MLAs and MPs, they are also smart enough to vote in a referendum on an issue of their choice. By increasing the individual voter's effectiveness, citizens' initiative decreases voter cynicism. Citizens' initiative enables the active participation of all voters in their democracy. It reduces the influence of those who lobby politicians behind closed doors. Citizens' initiative gives taxpayers the power to ensure that difficult and controversial issues cannot be avoided or ignored. Citizens' initiative makes politicians more accountable and more responsive to taxpayer concerns at all times. The fact that citizens could put a proposal on the ballot puts pressure on politicians to act on the concerns of Canadians. In short, citizen-initiated referendums will increase accountability and openness, empower taxpayers, and improve our representative democracy.

Proposal Plan Essay

The purpose for the organization Walgreens is to stay put in a dynamic, self-motivated and energetic business environment. Walgreens is a successful business looking to progress overall presentation and place the company for potential expansion. In order for this to follow through, a total rewards program needs to be created. The incentives and compensation plan must connect with the goals of the organization. A solid rewards program will build motivation in the work place. As the text states, â€Å"The notions that rewards are means to motivate employees assuming that the rewards are distributed fairly. Rewards seem to be part of many different perspectives in motivation (Helsley, 2013). † The most important part is the employees in this organization, and sadly the motivation is not up to par. Employees who lack motivation, insinuates that employees are not receiving proper rewards. Instead of management focusing on only one specific part of a department, they should rather work together towards a solid vision for the business. Presently, there is room for opportunity, to actually analyze the Human Resource Management system and see which problems which are leading employees to show lack of motivation. Through various researches, employees and outside sources, especially Human Capital Consulting organizations, believe that financial compensation is lower than market value. Employees do also not comprehend how pay interlinks with job performance. 20011 to 20012 surveys show that employees think that pay connects to seniority (Pulakos, 2004). Adding to standard compensation, individual rewards are not well connected to performance. For example, departments like Research & Development and sales focus the transaction force and rarely see any return. The lack of proper positioning for financial compensation and work performance is causing confusion and affecting the motivational problems. Walgreens needs to acknowledge that employee’s views need to be considered. This is the reason why the distance in understanding between the employees and the business needs to be fixed. Alterations to financial compensation can be expensive. The consultant from Human Capital Consulting the reward and compensation system needs to be fully reformed. The total cost of the reward system alterations are about $165,000. Since the business has been dealing with sales declining an investment of that sort would put the organization at a high risk (Walgreens Co. , 2013). Even though the company has to cope with that expense the organization has the chance to better compete in the market and reduce the risk of losing employees to other businesses due to financial compensation formats. This problem can be resolved if the management team at Walgreens takes into consideration the cause of external competition. Key objectives to consider are to make certain that the pay is enough to attract and sustain employees. If employees do not see that their pay is competitive compared to what other organizations are giving for the same type of work, then that might cause for the employee to leave. Even though employee motivation and financial compensation are viewed as big problems for Walgreens, the business’ ability to form attraction and support career enhancement has been dwindling. The problems can be caused by the lack of Human Resource Management in the business strategic human capital management, with a failure by leadership to form a successful culture that aids the business objectives. As the business sets itself straight and alters its strategy, it will be vital to effectively train employees and make certain that they are set for the challenges that come their way. Sadly, motivation issues are harming the business and may affect the strategic changes. Examples of the weak culture and employee development are seen in the Research & Development and sales parts of the organization. Each section contributes to the success of the business but receives rarely any recognition, whether it is pay or just an overall recognition. Walgreens has the chance to brace the culture and form a complete employee development system that supports the enterprises vision and goals for the future. To add to this the business has the ability to explore other areas aside from the financial compensation to augment employee motivation and job satisfaction. Executing a career development system will not be enough for long-term enhancements. Management at Walgreens will need to center on building situations that practice career development (Walgreens Co. , 2013). Employees at Walgreens have different interests. These interests can include financial compensation, career enhancement or development, strong and effective communication and of course support from the management team. Employees have the right to be rewarded fairly and be acknowledged for their efforts and hard work to the organization. To add to this, employees have the right to be included in the organizations culture instead of being part of teams that are divided up. This usually leads to a lack of direction. Employees crave cooperation, a challenging working environment and dedication. That’s why effective end state goals would be to make certain that employee motivation is being measured effectively. Also, form career development plans and spot out important achievements within the business. Not only employee motivation should be worked on, but also set up a comprehensive rewards system. The reward system will give employees the chance to take charge of their reward as well as form a spot to market benefits that pertain to Walgreen employees. An internal web application should be created by HR (Walgreens Co. , 2012). The system will center on benefits administration, cross-function team goal management, and incentive rewards tracking systems. Employees will have the option of reviewing their benefits and make alterations on their time. Also, managers will be able to appraise the improvement and donations made by cross-functional teams. Sales statistics will also be part of the reward system to keep track of sales performance. Overall, Walgreens needs to restructure its employee compensation program. This means that the organization needs to first acknowledge that employee motivation is low. From there, increase it, by rewarding employees for a job well done. Acknowledging them in front of their employees and even bonuses will be nice. Flexible schedule is so important. Basically, re-evaluating everything to make certain that employees are feeling valued.

Case: Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd., Legal Challenges Essay

The Ontario Human Rights Code states that sexual harassment occurs in situations when one individual is bothering the other by saying or doing unwanted or unwelcome things of a sexual or gender-related nature. This could be characterize in terms of inappropriate touching, offensive remarks about individual, sexual suggestions, unsuitable comments about body parts, exposure to sexually offensive pictures, verbal abuse due to the gender, etc. It is also considered to be a form of illegal discrimination and is a form of sexual and psychological abuse. In terms of the case, this is a clear case of sexual harassment because Rosetta is one of the two women in the department that every morning got called by her male co-workers as risotto, meaning Italian rice with gravy, and teased with Italian greetings. In addition, occasionally they asked her what she was doing with her Italian boyfriend and whether she had a good time with him the night before. Moreover, one of the co-workers asked her whether she prefer Italian over Canadian men and occasionally they loudly bragged to each other about their experience with their girlfriends so that Rosetta can hear it, just to embarrass her. Furthermore, her male co-workers told a dirty jock and asked Rosetta if she understood or if she could tell one as well. Usually, sexual harassment is a pattern of behaviour that happens frequently over a period of time. In this case, there is a pattern of different incidents that occurred over the period of Rosetta’s employment, which created a poisoned effect on the places where she worked. This type of sexual comments made her feel uncomfortable, in some situations even cry, which indicated that the work environment is poisoned. Although, Rosetta tried to make the harassment stop, it is not her responsibility alone, Al also has to make sure that sexual harassment does not occur in his workplaces because sexualized environment can create atmospheres that encourage more serious and direct sexual harassment, such as sexual joking n this case. If in the future more women would have positions in this department, this can create decrease in productivity, increase in team conflict and furthermore, lead to decrease in success at meeting financial goals because of team conflict. Moreover, it can create job dissatisfaction, loss of employees from resignations, and increase absenteeism by employees. In addition, the knowledge that harassment is permitted can damage ethical standards and discipline in the organization in general. Overtime, employees will lose respect and trust in their supervisors who encourage and/or ignored the problem, which can lead to a negative image of the company and create legal actions against the organization. The ignorance of the problem can create large costs to organization through damaged morale, lawsuits and absenteeism. People who harass will have no reasons to stop unless they are challenged. Therefore, it is necessary to support and encourage Rosetta to come forward. Eva can offer suggestions how to solve the problem but only Rosetta must choose what will be the best choice for her. Moreover, Eva can encourage Rosetta to seek help from a counsellor and provide her with helpful telephone numbers; however, it’s up to Rosetta to make her own decisions. In terms of their conversations, Eva should know that conversations that were between Eva and Rosetta are confidential and Eva cannot just go and tell it to somebody. The only time Eva may have to tell someone about Rosetta’s problem without her permission is if Rosetta is in immediate physical danger, which is not the case in this situation. Yet, ignoring or minimizing the problem will not make it go away. To conclude, it’s up to Rosetta to make complains to appropriate authority or to pursue a legal actions against the company in this matter. Eva can only morally support and advise Rosetta but cannot do any legal actions for her. The only think that Eva can try to do is to inform a human resources department in the organization about the situation and ask for the proper investigation about it. The other option that Eva can consider is to have a consultation with the lawyer about this whole situation; however, she should not say any names. All of these options have a good chance for success, as long as all of them conducted in accordance of law. Al’s first responsibility in this case is to properly deal with workplace sexual harassment issues involve the appropriate distribution of the organization’s policy on sexual harassment in the workplace. However, he did not take it serious when Rosetta complained to him, thus she was forced to terminate her employment. The other responsibility that Al should have carried is to show Rosetta that he, as a supervisor of the organization have responded to complain with the process of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and are dealing with it in a timely and effective manner when it does occur. Al also felled to carry it appropriately, moreover, he blamed Rosetta to be too sensitive and that she takes herself too seriously. And based on his philosophy, such as to be able to laugh at ourselves now and the, it shows that he encourages this type of behaviour in the work place. Furthermore, Al has to take approach to sexual harassment where it involves the development of an internal system for the fair and balanced investigation of every complaint of this nature. Every complaint should be taken seriously. Employees must be aware that they are free to put forward complaints about sexual harassment in their workplace and that they will be free from retaliation and intimidation as a result. They should be encouraged to use and rely upon the company’s internal complaint mechanism and resolution system. In this step, Al also felled to follow the appropriate road. His behaviour with employees encourages them to joke around, which may discourage other employees to complain due to fear of retaliation and intimidation, if Al tells employees about complain. It is absolutely critical that employer who has not yet adopted appropriate policies and attitudes towards sexual harassment in the workplace join the movement towards zero tolerance for these workplace problems. It is critical for the employer not only live up to their legal  responsibility when dealing with issues of sexual harassment, but perhaps more importantly is to show that they have done something. Accordingly, proactive steps are to create sexual harassment policies and well publicized complaint procedures set, which would create the correct tone for the elimination of sexual harassment in the workplace. As a bi-product, the same visible procedures will also help to reduce the employer’s potential exposure to vicarious liability for the acts of employees. Reference Ontario Women’s Justice Network. 6 Jan. 2002. Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children. 10 Feb. 2006 The Ontario Human Rights Commission. 11 Feb. 2007. The Ontario Human Rights Commission. 11 Feb. 2007 Ontario Women’s Directorate. 1 May 2003. Government of Ontario. 9 Feb. 2006 The Canadian Human Rights Commission. 9 July 2004. Government of Canada. 9 Feb. 2006.

Men

Men All businessmen have dreams of succeeding in their business endeavors. Therefore, they always do their best to outwit keen competition by trying to make marketable things. However, despite their wishes, not all businessmen can achieve success in their enterprise. In spite of their failure, most of them try over and over. Ray Kroc, the owner of McDonald, and Walt Disney are good examples of businessmen who people of all races and ages admire. These are (remove also) men who had endured hardships and ended up becoming very successful businessmen. When Walt Disney and McDonald are spoken, faces of children and adults alike light up with looks of sheer joy. They are definitely America's most famous businessmen who I really admire for their accomplishments.In his essay he (who is he?) said, "And their success led many others to aim marketing efforts at kids, turning America's youngest consumers into a demographic group that is now avidly studied, analyzed, and targeted by the world's larg est corporations."McDonaldsTheir marketing, one of there main functions - operational, financial, and marketing - of any business, is not only the most remarkable thing of their achievements, but also the main reason why I admire them. Whenever we think about McDonald and Disney, the first things that flash into our mind are Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse, which function to recruit children as customers. This implies that they, very early on, had the notion that they should target children with their marketing. Actually, when a child enters McDonald and Disneyland, he or she usually brings one or two adults with them, and that is a very simple way of increasing the average check size. However, I personally believe that their marketing toward children is insidious (remove comma) because they (they?) are not able to rationally determine.

Why You Should Never Take a Job Below Your Skill Level

Why You Should Never Take a Job Below Your Skill Level Many often find themselves considering jobs below their skill level in tough employment markets. Faced with ongoing unemployment, or the option of part-time or temporary work, one might think that taking a full-time job, regardless of whether it falls below your level of qualifications, is the best option. But it turns out that there is scientific proof that working in a job below your skill level harms your later chances of getting hired for a better-paying job more appropriate to your qualifications. Sociologist David Pedulla at  The University of Texas at Austin examined the question of how  part-time jobs, temporary jobs, and jobs below a persons skill level affect future employability. Specifically, he wondered how this employment variable would influence whether applicants received a callback (via phone or email) from a prospective employer. Pedulla also wondered whether gender might interact with the employment variable to influence the outcome. To examine these questions Pedulla conducted a now fairly common experimenthe created fake resumes and submitted them to firms that were hiring. He submitted 2,420 fake  applications to 1,210 job listings posted in five major cities across the U.S.New  York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Los  Angeles, and Bostonand advertised on a major national job-posting website. Pedulla constructed the study to examine four different kinds of jobs, including  sales, accounting/bookkeeping,  project management/management, and  administrative/clerical positions. He tailored the fake resumes and applications so that each demonstrated a six-year history of employment and professional experience relevant to the occupation. In order to address his research questions, he varied the applications by gender, and also by employment status for the previous year. Some applicants were listed as having been employed full-time, while others listed part-time or temporary work, working in a job below the appl icants skill level, and others were unemployed for the year prior to the current application. The careful construction and execution of this study allowed Pedulla to find clear, compelling, and statistically significant results that show that  applicants who were positioned as working below their skill level, regardless of gender, received only half as many callbacks as those who were working in full-time jobs the previous yeara callback rate of just five percent compared to a little more than ten percent (also regardless of gender). The study also revealed that while part-time employment did not negatively affect the employability of women, it did for men, resulting in a callback rate of less than five percent. Being unemployed in the previous year had a modestly negative impact on women, reducing the callback rate to 7.5 percent, and was much more negative for men, who were called back at a rate of just 4.2 percent. Pedulla found that temporary work did not affect the callback rate. In the study,  published in the April 2016  issue of  American Sociological Review  as  Penalized or Protected? Gender and the Consequences of Nonstandard and Mismatched Employment Histories,  Pedulla remarked, ...these results indicate that part-time work and skills underutilization are as scarring for male workers as a year of unemployment. These results should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone considering taking a job bellow their skill level. While it might pay the bills in the short-term, it can significantly hamper ones ability to return to the relevant skill-level and pay grade at a later date. Doing so literally cuts in half your chances of getting called for an interview. Why might this be the case? Pedulla conducted a follow-up survey with 903 people in charge of hiring at a variety of companies across the nation in order to find out. He asked them  about their perceptions of applicants with each kind of employment history, and how likely they would be to recommend each kind of candidate to an interview. The results show that employers believe that men who are employed part-time or in positions below their skill level are less committed and less competent than men in other employment situations. Those surveyed also believed that women working below their skill level were less competent than others, but did not believe them to be less committed. Couched in the valuable insights offered by the findings of this study is a reminder of the troubling ways in which gender stereotypes shape perceptions and expectations of people in the workplace. Because part-time work is considered normal for women  it has a feminine connotation, even though it is increasingly common for all people under advanced capitalism. The results of this study, which show that men are penalized for part-time work when women are not, suggest that part-time work signals a failure of masculinity among men, signaling to employers incompetence and a lack of commitment. This is a disturbing reminder that the sword of gender bias does in fact cut both ways.

Build an Authors Platform by Becoming an Internet Radio Show Host

Build an Authors Platform In todays ever-changing age of publishing, acquisitions editors at many publishing houses evaluate authors’ worth based on how many fans they have, how much publicity they can acquire and what kind of network theyre tapped into. According to Dr. Deborah Siegel, a writing coach and co-founder of SheWrites.com, the editors definition of a writers platform is qualifiable proof that youre the person to write this book and quantifiable proof that you have the ability to promote it. In today’s digital age, promotion means online promotion, having a social media presence, followers and fans. Internet radio has become one of the fastest and most popular ways to distribute the story and message of your book even before it is published. Each week for my radio show, â€Å"Giving Voice to Your Story,† I interview expert bloggers, speakers and authors of notable influence on the issues of craft and writing the personal story. Most recently, Ive interviewed popular blogger, author and speaker Nina Amir, author of How to Blog a Book. Other lineups include: Linda Joy Myers, president of the National Association for Memoir Writing. Julia Cameron, creator of the well-known The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write appeared on my show on December 20th. When my mother passed away earlier this year, I shared lessons and writing techniques I developed while writing my memoir in progress, a story about what it was like growing up in the shadow of a famous classical pianist. Listeners called in and left comments on both my Blog Talk Radio and Facebook promotional pages. One listener even became a client! The most popular venue for Internet radio is Blog Talk Radio. Most radio stations use Blog Talk Radio as their infrastructure. As the most established venue, it offers an easy start up. One can open a very workable free account, but the best deal for a solo account is $99. Paying $249 gives the most promotion. The key to building a listenership is to work the Internet. Find your tribe. Find groups on LinkedIn and engage them At the end of the day, editors want to see quantifiable proof of the numbers of the people you can reach and how you can reach them. In the digital world of marketing and promotion, this is your â€Å"online footprint.† As you begin building your author platform, see how you can work from a deeper place of service rather than think about who you are and how you come across. Each time I broadcast, I ask myself what listeners and readers will gain from tuning in. Involve your listeners as much as possible and watch your listenership grow.

House Value Estimation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

House Value Estimation - Research Paper Example The assessment of the price of a house is generally assessed through the few apparent factors like the construction value, design, and location of the house. The rough estimation usually does not encompass the related factors that are important to decide the value of a house and have a significant impact on the assessment process. The study of the factors other than the common factors is important to identify their role in the determination of the price or value of a home. Generally, a realtor’s claim would always be that the location is the most important factor when it comes to determining the value of a house or home. The formulation of a model in this regard is attempted through ‘regression’. For concrete assessment of this claim, some elaborated factors are included in this exercise. A home or a house can generally be viewed in terms of the properties it holds internally and the characteristics of the environment outside that home. The null hypothesis here wo uld be the realtor’s claim i.e. the location is the most important factor in assessing the house value whereas the alternate hypothesis refutes by stating that this is not the only factor but there are other significantly effective factors that are needed to be taken into account. There are a number of processes that can be used to predict house values. These include various probabilistic methods. Multivariate Spatial Method, Time Series analysis, FootyForecast Forecasting methods( a method that is similar to simple sequence method).

Why I chose the engineering major Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I chose the engineering major - Essay Example antastic gifts such as cars and airplanes from my parents.I always had a deep affection of cars and airplanes as I thought that they were funy and they can move so much faster than human beings. On top of that, airplanes could also fly because they have wings. As I grew older, I realized that many things could be demystified by science hence my keen interest especially in engineering. Since middle school, I became more interested in computers. Whenever my father was fixing computers, I always carefully watched him. We own three sets of DIY computers and I helped him assemble one of the computers another day. I later assembled the third computer on my own and the feeling of this accomplishment was overwhelming and has since been inspirational. Through assembling computer parts, I learned a great deal of placements of the components and their uses. Since high school, I did voluntary service at MSKCC and Weill Cornell Medical College where I was introduced to different types of fascinating equipment like the confocal microscope, flow cytometry, PO2 measurement robots and so on. This experience aroused my keen interest in pursuing a career in the field of engineering. It is against this background that I would wish to apply for a place to study the College of Engineering at Cornell, which has a very fine reputation in the engineering community. Its engineering programs were recently ranked among the top seven in the nation, while its engineering physics program was ranked number one. My comprehensive curriculum at high school would help me prepare for the challenging courses that will be offered at Cornell. In junior year at Stuyvesant High School, I took AP BC Calculus, AP Physics B and right now I am taking AP physics C and AP chemistry. My average is a 4.0 and I also took SAT II physics and Math Level 2, which I got 760 and 800 respectively. All these academic achievements bear testimony in my self determination in pursuing an engineering career. Basically, I

Area studies 3rd draft Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Area studies 3rd draft - Research Paper Example There is no definite response the question of the reasons due to which this civilization came to an end. But there are various studies associated with this question and these theories may simply be myths or true facts. Various historians have tried to identify the reasons that caused the seizure of the Indus Valley civilization and they have provided various speculative stories in relation to the incident. The end of the civilization started taking place around the period of 1800 BC and the society completely eroded away by the period of 1700 BC (Kenoyer 160). The two main reasons that are said to have caused the decline include natural reasons such as climatic changes and manmade reasons such as the wars that might have taken place at that time. According to historians three separate instances of natural disasters including intense funds is one of the reasons of the end of the Indus Valley civilization. Evidence provided by the historians is the huge deposits of silty clay along with huge piles of buildings that had been destroyed (Wheeler 11). The materials from these destroyed buildings contained clay which depicts that the city of Mohenjodaro had experienced floods. Other historians even belie ve that floods were not only the reason for destruction; they believe that the region of Mohenjodaro may have even experienced tectonic uplift. The historians are of the idea that earthquakes might have occurred and due to this the floods in the lower region of the river of Indus might have been raised (Wheeler 11). The increase in the floods caused due to earthquakes is credited to the long existence of the city of Mohenjodaro. The historians even argue that the regions such as the Makran region housed a sea port for the civilization and due to the floods in those regions resulted in the end of the commercial trade of the civilization. The last theory

Strategic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic analysis - Essay Example In an organization it’s impossible to control everything therefore chaos must be expected therefore managers must expect opposition from other parties in the organization. They must be able to act democratically and be able to control their anger and emotions in order to deal with diverse reactions in the organization. Chaos also brings the attention of the top management about need to look at the issue at hands (Churchill, 1965). A dynamic system is a system that involves two parties that are in disagreement and require an external interference e.g. chaos in an organization that might require interference by the police agency. A leader can achieve order out of chaos through taking time and understand the major causes of chaos. This is through listening to the parties that are involved in the chaos together with their line of argument. This would work towards deciding on the side to take in order to solve the standoff. These parties also play a major role in giving the leader a possible solution to the chaos. It also gives the leader a variety of strategies that he/she can use in coming up with a lasting solution to the problem. Poor decision by the leader can aggravate the problem as both parties would be unsatisfied by the leader’s decision (Churchill,

Offences against Person and Property Case Study

Offences against Person and Property - Case Study Example Now, a psychiatrist can always say that "the defendant had a predisposition to a disassociative state when under stress and that he was in such a state when he killed his son in law."1Notwithstanding the fact that he began by stabbing the person in a fit of anger, and then continued doing it after his son in law had fallen down. These were not "blows struck in anger," but sheer premeditated actions of giving in to the joy of primeval bloodlust. And that is how one could agree with the statement that the law about murder is a mess. It was therefore necessary to reframe it in such a manner with the minimum of loopholes to make sure any future example of impulsive or premeditated homicide does not know that it can get away with murder by invoking the plea of "it was provocation, my lord, " First of all, we have to see the difference between murder- planning out and killing a person with malice aforethought, and manslaughter, killing of a person in "hot blood," keeping into view, "the limits of human frailty," Murder meant that you looked at the methods of getting rid of one particularly obnoxious person and waited for the time and the opportunity to send him to his forefathers. Manslaughter meant that you had no intention of dispatching that particular human specimen, but he provoked you continuously, incessantly, intolerably, unremittingly, verbatim and seriatim, until it was beyond the normal tolerance level of you, who happen to be a sane, sober and somewhat sombre pillar of society. So you killed him but you were not in your right senses at that moment. One pleads not guilty my lord. This pleading of manslaughter instead of murder began to be clearly demarcated in the 17th and 18th century, when people resorted to the use of weapons to assert their rights, which they thought had been infringed upon by some upstart who did not know better. There were also plenty of opportunities to get rid of your opponents, by challenging them to duels and then dispatch them in a very honourable and conventionally accepted way. Any sort of matter of honour or any insult, where real or insinuated could be wiped out by pistols or swords at dawn. This wholesale killing of innocent lambs to the slaughter went on until dueling was outlawed, and it was made a hanging offense. Murder was also a hanging offense. There had to be a clear distinction between premeditated and well calculated murder and manslaughter under provocation. And that could make all the difference between life and death. Defects in the law of provocation. So, in the 17th century, the doctrine of provocation meant that the circumstances of killing someone happened to be extenuating. It touched upon a matter of honour, (possibly adultery, which no red-blooded man could condone unless he wanted to be jeered at by his peers.) There needed to be some mitigation of reckoned punishment, because the killing was done in a moment of anger. They were considered less reprehensible, and could only come under the name of manslaughter and not murder. Yet, killing a person in cold blood on a dueling field, hours after the challenge had taken place , and the blood had had time to cool down, and better thought and sense prevail, can only be termed "murder." But the social code of honour of that time demanded that one retrieve his

HISTORY SUMMARY FOR FDR & JEWISH REFUGEE INCIDENT and KAMIKAZE PILOTS Essay

HISTORY SUMMARY FOR FDR & JEWISH REFUGEE INCIDENT and KAMIKAZE PILOTS - Essay Example Roosevelt was one of the few men during his time who understood what has happening and looked for ways to defeat Hitler and put an end to the Holocaust. The Roosevelt administration did everything possible to save the Jews and the victims of the Nazis. Rosen reveals in his book that President Roosevelt, in spite of the Great Depression wherein a lot of Americans lost their jobs after the stock market crashed, widespread American isolationism, strict immigration legislation, and extensive Semitism which then prevailed in America, did not abandon the Jews; he led the Allies in war against Hitler and the Nazis which cost fifty million lives. President Roosevelt also maintained close ties with many Jewish leaders, many of whom he appointed to high-level positions which include the Supreme Court. During the weaker periods of his presidency, he made many attempts to allow Jewish refugees to enter the United States. While the Holocaust was happening, there was clamor in America to remain ne utral regarding European affairs and distrust anything that had a tinge of internationalism. The American Jews were also divided with regard to coming up with the best policy for freeing their fellow Jews from the Nazis. Many accusations were thrown at President Roosevelt for the way he handled the Holocaust and Rosen considers these to be unfair. One of these accusations involved the SS St. Louis, a shipload of German Jewish refugees which was turned away from Cuba and denied permission to dock in the United States. The SS St. Louis left Hamburg in May of 1939 before World War I broke out or before the Final Solution was imposed. The Final Solution began when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Cuba refused to let the German Jewish passengers leave the ship because they had bough visas which were considered illegal under Cuban law. The United States government under Roosevelt immediately acted on the problem. Rosen explains how the Roosevelt administration tried to convince C uba to permit the Jews to enter and even went as far as bribing the Cuban government to allow the passengers of the ship to enter Cuba. Rosen also made mention of the efforts FDR’s people to arranged for the ship’s passengers to be taken in by England and by other European countries and avoid being returned to Germany. The Jews were aware that the Americans had saved them. Rosen also said that the Roosevelt administration found difficulty in making an exception in U.S. immigration policy. This was due to the fact that a lot of Americans had feared the increasing wave of immigrants who mostly created trouble such as the anarchists who bombed Haymarket in Chicago in 1886, those who gave rise to violent, radical, and revolutionary labor movements, and the Polish anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley in 1901. The Roosevelt administration was also accused of failing to denounce the Holocaust. Because of this FDR was thought of as having been part of the cons piracy of silence while the Holocaust was happening. According to Rosen, there was no such conspiracy and that FDR did not keep silent while millions of Jews died at the hand of Hitler and his Nazis. As a matter of fact, Roosevelt expressed his outrage over the way Hitler treated the Jews. He thought that Hitler was insane.

Offences against Person and Property Case Study

Offences against Person and Property - Case Study Example Now, a psychiatrist can always say that "the defendant had a predisposition to a disassociative state when under stress and that he was in such a state when he killed his son in law."1Notwithstanding the fact that he began by stabbing the person in a fit of anger, and then continued doing it after his son in law had fallen down. These were not "blows struck in anger," but sheer premeditated actions of giving in to the joy of primeval bloodlust. And that is how one could agree with the statement that the law about murder is a mess. It was therefore necessary to reframe it in such a manner with the minimum of loopholes to make sure any future example of impulsive or premeditated homicide does not know that it can get away with murder by invoking the plea of "it was provocation, my lord, " First of all, we have to see the difference between murder- planning out and killing a person with malice aforethought, and manslaughter, killing of a person in "hot blood," keeping into view, "the limits of human frailty," Murder meant that you looked at the methods of getting rid of one particularly obnoxious person and waited for the time and the opportunity to send him to his forefathers. Manslaughter meant that you had no intention of dispatching that particular human specimen, but he provoked you continuously, incessantly, intolerably, unremittingly, verbatim and seriatim, until it was beyond the normal tolerance level of you, who happen to be a sane, sober and somewhat sombre pillar of society. So you killed him but you were not in your right senses at that moment. One pleads not guilty my lord. This pleading of manslaughter instead of murder began to be clearly demarcated in the 17th and 18th century, when people resorted to the use of weapons to assert their rights, which they thought had been infringed upon by some upstart who did not know better. There were also plenty of opportunities to get rid of your opponents, by challenging them to duels and then dispatch them in a very honourable and conventionally accepted way. Any sort of matter of honour or any insult, where real or insinuated could be wiped out by pistols or swords at dawn. This wholesale killing of innocent lambs to the slaughter went on until dueling was outlawed, and it was made a hanging offense. Murder was also a hanging offense. There had to be a clear distinction between premeditated and well calculated murder and manslaughter under provocation. And that could make all the difference between life and death. Defects in the law of provocation. So, in the 17th century, the doctrine of provocation meant that the circumstances of killing someone happened to be extenuating. It touched upon a matter of honour, (possibly adultery, which no red-blooded man could condone unless he wanted to be jeered at by his peers.) There needed to be some mitigation of reckoned punishment, because the killing was done in a moment of anger. They were considered less reprehensible, and could only come under the name of manslaughter and not murder. Yet, killing a person in cold blood on a dueling field, hours after the challenge had taken place , and the blood had had time to cool down, and better thought and sense prevail, can only be termed "murder." But the social code of honour of that time demanded that one retrieve his

Analysing Amazon Website From The Usability Point Of View Dissertation

Analysing Amazon Website From The Usability Point Of View - Dissertation Example Literature Review 3. Research Methodology and Design 3.1 Tools Employed in Evidence Gathering 3.2 Questionnaires 3.3 Interviews 3.4 Observations 4. Implementation 4.1 Visual Appeal of Amazon 4.2 Homepage of Amazon.com 4.3 Log-in Screen 4.4 Shipping to Multiple Addresses 4.5 Learn Availability of Products 4.6 Product Search and Satisfaction 4.7 Reliability and Uptime 4.8 Product Pages 4.9 Integration with International Websites 4.9.1 Co-Branding with Multiple Retailers 4.9.2 The Help Centre 4.9.3 Usability Support for People with Disabilities 5. Evaluation 5.1 The Suggested Solutions 5.2 Limitations of Suggested Solutions 5.3 Works Comparison 6. Conclusion 6.1 Thesis Overview 6.2 Future Works References Appendices 1. Introduction 1.1 Project Overview As the internet has evolved and more industries saw the potential money that could be earned from this platform, shopping and retail companies were not as well left out. An industry that allows internet users to sit in the comfort of thei r own home and use their personal computers to buy goods was created. Throughout the years, there have been various challenges and opportunities that have confronted this industry that ultimately led to the demise of most of them. One company has stood the test of time throughout the various technological and market changes that have confronted e-commerce. That company is amazon.com. From a modest start as an online retailer, it is now a market leader in online retailing. In this project, attention is being paid to the in-depth analysis of amazon.com as an online retail giant, with the primary focus being on the usability of the website from the perspective of the user. This is achieved by analysing existing literature on amazon.com and the conducting of surveys on sample users of the...Limiting factors that affect the usability of amazon.com will be discussed and recommendations made according to the opinions generated from cross-section of the website’s users. As the intern et has evolved and more industries saw the potential money that could be earned from this platform, shopping and retail companies were not as well left out. An industry that allows internet users to sit in the comfort of their own home and use their personal computers to buy goods was created. Throughout the years, there have been various challenges and opportunities that have confronted this industry that ultimately led to the demise of most of them. One company has stood the test of time throughout the various technological and market changes that have confronted e-commerce. That company is amazon.com. From a modest start as an online retailer, it is now a market leader in online retailing. In this project, attention is being paid to the in-depth analysis of amazon.com as an online retail giant, with the primary focus being on the usability of the website from the perspective of the user. This is achieved by analysing existing literature on amazon.com and the conducting of surveys on sample users of the website. Upon these conclusions will be drawn the site’s usability, the challenges that face it and recommendations made on the way forward.

Warehouse Management Essay Example for Free

Warehouse Management Essay Abstract: The study presented here considers arrangement and management policies to improve the order picking procedure in the existing company warehouse. The study was conducted in a timber goods production and trading company. The main objective was to reduce the overall picking time that is quite high due to the lack of proper management and the nature of the stored items. The first stage was to register the situation in the warehouse. The second stage involved the analysis of the obtained data, to identify promising modifications and quantify the benefits of adopting them. The proposed modifications were based on policies and methodologies suggested in the literature. After the company approved and implemented (some of) the proposed modifications, the final stage was to measure and analyse the achieved improvements. Keywords: warehousing, case study, facility layout, order picking time 1. INTRODUCTION Order picking (OP) appears as one of the most significant activities in a warehouse. The picking tasks may contribute by over 65% in the warehouse operating costs. In fact, the retrieval cost exceeds by far the storage cost of any given item (Coyle et al., 1996). The factors affecting the efficiency of OP typically include the product demand, the warehouse layout, the location of the items, the picking method in combination with the routing methods, the experience of the employees, and the extent of automation (Gattorna, 1997). Note that the high cost associated with the automation of the procedure forces the majority of companies to use manual operation, usually at the expense of efficiency and time. The case study is carried out in a timber goods production and trading company. We consider one of the existing warehouse facilities and we attempt to improve its performance. The performance measure is the total picking time, so our objective is to find ways to reduce it as much as it is practically possible and desirable. At the first stage involves the collection of time data, to target the improvement that may be accomplished from the transition from a totally disorderly situation to an organized and controlled warehouse environment. The second stage suggests, implements and studies alternative storage, picking and routing schemes, according to observations made during the first stage. During the third stage, a second series of time measurements is carried out to investigate the achieved benefits. 2. REVIEW OF WAREHOUSE POLICIES RELATED TO ORDER PICKING There is a variety of studies on methods, policies, principles and/or techniques developed to improve the overall OP procedure. The decisions usually concern policies for the picking of the product items, the routing of the pickers in the warehouse, and the storage schemes for the products in the warehouse. The research scope has been to investigate the effect of changes in these policies on the reduction of the overall OP costs and the increase of percent savings. Petersen and Gerald (2003) was the first to attempt a simultaneous evaluation of all the three policies, whereas the usual practice is to consider them separately. 2.1. Picking policies In terms of the picking policies, Ackerman (1990) divided OP into strict, batch and zone picking and proposed policies tailored to each case. In strict picking, a single order is assigned during a picking tour, leading to lower service times and higher customer satisfaction. The policy is ideal when the group of the picking products is quite small and easy to be found. Drawbacks of the policy include an increase in the overall transportation time and a cost penalty. Alternatively, the batch picking policy assigns to a picker more than one orders during a picking tour (Gibson and Sharp, 1992; De Coster et al., 1999; Petersen, 2000). The batch scheme may bring significant reduction on the total picking time, but introduces an additional cost for monitoring and separating the orders at a later stage. Zone picking assigns a picker to a designated picking zone, where the picker is responsible for those products that are in his/her zone of the warehouse. This scheme decreases the chances for destructions and mistakes, but a possible delay in a zone is a threshold for the entire picking procedure for a big order. Frazelle and Apple (1994) further divided zone picking into: sequential zone, batch zone and wave OP. Petersen (2000) suggested that in the sequential zone scheme the order integrity is maintained, in batch zone the orders are batched together and each picker collects the products within a zone, and in wave picking a group of orders is programmed in precise time period. 2.2. Routing policies Routing policies suggest the route for a picking tour and the picking sequence of the items on the pick list. The suggestions are based on decision-making technologies that range from simple heuristics to mathematical optimization procedures. Using mathematical programming tools Ratliff and Rosenthal (1983) found that optimal routing reduced the travel time, but the optimal routes were quite confusing routes and difficult to implement in practice. Hall (1993) and Petersen and Schmenner (1999) examined the efficiency of heuristic routing in minimizing the distance traveled by the picker. In practice, many warehouses use the traversal policy, where the picker must pass through the entire aisle and in order to collect the items. Petersen (1997) and Roodbergen and Koster (2001) examined the possibility of combined traversal and return routes to reduce further the travel distance. 2.3 Storage policies Storage policies remain the least investigated among the three policy categories. Random storage is the most widely used option, and Schwarz et al. (1978) examined its performance. Petersen and Aase (2003) claimed that random storage is by far the simplest option and requires less space compared to the more sophisticated storage policies. The simplest structured-storage schemes apply class-based and/or demandbased policies in the arrangement of the products. In class-based storage the products are classified, and items of each class are placed within the same area of the warehouse. In demand (or volume) –based storage the products are stored according to their demand (or their size) near the Pick-up / Drop-off point (P/D). Jarvis and Mc Dowell (1991) suggested that the optimal storage strategy is to place the items with great demand in the aisle, thus reduce the travel time. Gibson and Sharp (1992) and Gray et al. (1992) stated that locating high volume items near to the P/D point increased the picking efficiency. Petersen and Schmenner (1999) examined the volume-based storage policies and concluded that the method resulted to less time compared to other storage policies. Eynan and Rosenblatt (1994) claimed that the class-based storage required less data processing and yielded similar saving with volume-based storage. Tompkins and Smith (1998) suggested that the overall picking time could be reduced applying the Pareto principle on the storage arrangement. In a warehouse, a relatively small number of products constitutes the largest part of the stock and accounts for the largest part of the dispatches of the warehouse. Consequently, if high demand items are placed in near distance and grouped into classes, then picking time can be significantly reduced. The former is easy to apply by allocating a number of the front area piles to items of high demand or leftovers. In terms of more sophisticated storage options, Ven den Berg (1999) suggested a separation of the warehouse into a forward and a reserve area. The forward area was for order picking, while the reserve area was used for replenishing the forward area. The variety of different methods and techniques makes it difficult to identify the most appropriate policy to increase the overall performance of the picking activity. The decision on the appropriate principles and policies to be applied depends on the characteristics of the particular system, i.e. product and warehouse. By reducing the non-productive elements during OP, Gattorna (1997) presented a set of basic and general productivity improvement principles. 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDIED WAREHOUSE – INITIAL SITUATION The company considered here deals with wood production and trading, and uses 6 warehouses for the finished products. Each warehouse is further divided into individual sections where different categories of products are stored. Panels, i.e. sheets of compressed wood (chipboard) account for 80% of the total product sales of the company. The panels are covered with coloured melamine to imitate the appearance of various types of wood. The panel warehouse has over 6000 codes of stored products, distributed into 4 individual sections. The study considers one of these sections, where the number of codes is around 1000. The most frequent values for the size of the panels is 3.66Ãâ€"1.83m, and the thickness is between 6cm and 25cm. Instead of using shelves, the products are piled one on top of the other using small chocks between the packages. Great attention is paid to the alignment of the items in each pile, to avoid sheet warping. Warping can easily occur due to the small thickness of the packages and the large load they take. The studied warehouse section consists of three parts: two of them have 12 front piles each and the third part has 6 front piles (Figure 1). The piles are 7m high and the products are stored in up to 4 depths of pile levels. The main aisle is used by the clarks to gain access to the front piles. The aisle is wide enough to allow the clarks to remove the items of the front piles and to retrieve items stored in the deeper levels. Each part of the section contains different groups of products. Customer orders are collected by the Sales Department and sent to the Traffic Office on daily basis. The loading plans contain information on the ordered items and their quantities, the customer placing the order, and the requested mode of loading on the lorry. In the course of a day, the Traffic Office prepares over 25 order plans. The plans are usually collected and loaded at the same time. Initially, the warehouse suffered from many problems that mainly affected the search and retrieval times. The picking followed the strict OP policy. Each pair of pickers (an operator and an assistant) undertook a single order-plan at the time. Orders from other plans were collected once the pickers completed their current plan, even if this required revisiting the same areas of the warehouse. There was no automated or optimal routing system used here, and the choice of an efficient route remained on the experience of the picker. The grouping of the products in the section parts was based on the type of their surface (e.g. porous or smooth), regardless of the kind of wood. This was the only storage rule, and then the items were stored randomly in the section parts. Tracing a product was relying on the experience of the warehouse managers and the memory of the pickers. From the point of management the process depended on the experience of the personnel, while even a simple WMS version was certain to improve the situation. Once the location of an item was specified, the retrieval time was affected by the size/weight of the products, and the mode of storage. For instance, if the ordered product was located on the second, third or fourth depth of pile levels, many items had to be removed until the product was finally retrieved. Then, the removed items had to be placed back to their original locations. 4. MEASUREMENTS AND PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS The time measurements were carried out twice. The first measurement (stage 1) presented the initial anarchous situation of the system (see Section 3). The second measurement (stage 3) showed the effect of the improvements suggested by the authors and adopted by the company. The picking procedure is divided into four phases, and the time measurements concern the: 1. the travel time required for the picker to reach the pick point, 2. the search time required for the products to be found, 3. the retrieval time required for the products to be retrieved, and 4. the return time required for the picker to transport the products to the order point. Each time measurement considered 15 order plans selected by the Traffic Office of the company in collaboration with the authors. The selected plans were representative and included a large number of products, so that the analysis of the obtained time schedules yields reasonable and reliable conclusions. The number of orders in the studied plans ranged from 5 to 17 per plan. To allow comparison between the picking times measured for items of different size, the results are presented as the measured time over the volume of the respective item, namely in minutes per cubic meter. 4.1. Stage 1: Results of the 1ST measurement series The results of the 1st measurement series are reported on Table 1. The time required to complete the picking cycle is 5.69 min/m3. In terms of the itemized times for travel, search, retrieval and return, we observe that finding and retrieving the products are the most time-consuming procedures. The search time is around 36% (2.05 min/m3) of the total OP time. The percentage is quite high and reveals the need for an automated system to control and monitor the placement of the stock. Tracing the products becomes an extremely difficult and demanding procedure relaying mainly on the experience of the operator and the assistant. Many years of work in this particular position and the ability to locate the items using visual contact are decisive factors. In many cases, finding an item quickly is merely a matter of coincidence or luck. Our results include cases where locating a stocked product took over 45 minutes of searching and the product eventually failed to reach the customer on time. Table 1: Final results obtained during the 1st and the 2nd measurements Phases Travel time Search time Retrieval time Return time Travel return times Total 1ST measurement before modifications t1 (minutes) % total 0.51 9.0 2.05 36.0 2.50 43.9 0.63 11.1 1.14 5.69 20.0 100. 2ST measurement after modifications t2 (minutes) % total 0.33 11.5 0.37 12.9 1.73 60.5 0.43 15.0 0.76 2.86 26.6 100. Relative time reduction (t1-t2) / t1 % 35.3 82.0 30.8 31.7 33.3 49.7 The retrieval time is around 44% (2.50 min/m3) of the total OP time. Most of this time is spent on removing products in the front levels until the desired item comes to surface. The multiple storage depths combined with the surface type-based storage makes retrieval the most time-consuming procedure. Note that the initial choice of storage policies was based upon empirical criteria since, without a systematic measurement and consideration of the real system. Typically, the travel and return times account for over half of the total OP time (Tompkins, 1998), and most of the research work in increasing the efficiency of OP has focussed on the assumption. This does not apply to the problem considered here, where the retrieval times are considerably higher due to the nature of the products. Supported by the results of Stage 1, the retrieval times can be reduced by rearranging the warehouse and applying storage principles as discussed in Section 2. 4.2. Stage 2: Proposed and implemented mo difications The scope here is to reduce the time spent to reach the picking area and the packaging point. Based on the analysis of the first measurements the following were suggested to the company. Introduction of a Warehouse Management System (WMS): The use of a WMS can facilitate and speed up the tracing of the products. This is expected to reduce significantly the search time that is over a third of the total OP time. Improvement of the picking policies: After introducing a WMS, it is advisable to change the method of OP from strict to zone picking. Application of optimal routing policies: In total, the travel and return time is only around 20% of the total OP time. A techno-economical feasibility study (in the form of an ABC analysis) can quantify how much of this can really be reduced by the choice of routing policies, and provide incentives to carry out the necessary modifications. Changing the location of fast moving products in the warehouse, to reduce the retrieval time for small orders. The number of the wood panels ordered is usually other than those contained in the panel lots. The initial policy was to leave the remaining items in their original locations until they were again in demand. The result was to have many broken lots of the same product stored randomly in various places and levels within the warehouse. The remainders of the product lots can be placed in easily accessible front piles assigned for this purpose. Extending the storage space to reduce the storage depths from four to two, to reduce the retrieval time. This however increases the fraction of the void over the total space in the warehouse, and creates a trade off between the time needed to access the products and the cost of extending the warehouse area. The company adopted some of the above suggestions, namely the installation of a simple WMS and a change in the location of its products, following an ABC analysis. The storage mode changed to demandbased, hence the fast moving products were placed closer to the section entrance to reduce the travel and return times. Also, two piles were allocated on each side section, where the remainders under 20 sheets would be placed (see the broken lot piles in Figure 1). The company did not switch to zone picking, because separating the items of the different order packs needs extra space. Also, the company could not consider our suggestion to reduce the storage depth levels, since this requ ired building an additional warehouse. 4.3. Stage 3: Results of the 2ND measurement series Once our suggestions were implemented, the second measurement series was conducted to evaluate the subsequent reductions on the total OP time. The results and the differences between the first and the second measurements are presented on the Table 1. The total time to complete the picking cycle is now 2.86 min/m3, thus a reduction of nearly 50% was achieved. More specifically, the search time is down by over 80% and is now nearly 13% (0.37 min/m3) of the total. This is because the item locations are registered and given to pickers along with the order plan. Further reductions could be achieved if the employed WMS specified the height along with the depth of the product location. The demand-based storage and the use of the two piles for the broken lots reduced the retrieval time by 30.8%, to 1.73 min/m3. There is also significant reduction (33.3% on average) in the travel time to and from the picking points, due to the new storage policies adopted. Despite the significant overall reduction on the OP time, the problem of item retrieval remains unresolved. In effect, the current retrieval time is 60% of the total OP time. Redu cing the storage depths is not considered presently, as it requires expansion of the warehousing establishments. 5. CONCLUSIONS This work presents a real case study to improve the performance of order picking in an existing company warehouse. The main objective is the reduction of the overall picking time. The work is divided into three stages. The first stage is to register the situation in the warehouse with regard to the required order picking times. The total time is divided into travel, search, retrieval and return time to allow a more detailed analysis of the situation. The analysis of the obtained data identifies promising modifications and quantifies the benefits of adopting them. In effect, the measurements indicated the need for more systematic management, storage and arrangement of the products in the warehouse, and more efficient routing. After the company approved and implemented (some of) the proposed modifications, the time measurements were repeated to see the benefits. Finally, a mean 50% reduction in the total picking times was achieved. There is still space for improvement, even given the reluctance of the company to carry out expensive modifications. Our future research considers the development of a simple warehouse simulation tool to apply different arrangement options and evaluate their performance, using the time data collected in this work. REFERENCES Ackerman, K. B., 1990. â€Å"Practical Handbook of Warehousing†, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY. Coyle, J.J., Bardi, E.J., Langley, C.J., 1996. â€Å"The Management of Business Logistics†, 6th ed., West Publishing, St Paul, MN. De Koster, M.B.M., Van der Poort, E.S., Wolters, M., 1999. â€Å"Efficient order batching methods in warehouses†, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 37, no. 7, pp. 1479-1504. Eynan, A., Rosenblatt, M.J., 1994. â€Å"Establishing zones in single-command class-based rectangular AS/RS†, IIE Transactions, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 38-46. Frazelle, E.H., Apple, J.M., 1994. â€Å"Warehouse Operations†, in J.A. Tompkins and D.A. Harmelink (Eds), The Distribution Management Handbook, McGraw-Hill, NY, pp. 22.1-22.36. Gibson, D.R., Sharp, G.P., 1992. â€Å"Order batching procedures†, European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 58, pp. 57-67. Gray, A.E., Karmarkar, U.S., Seidmann, A., 1992. â€Å"Design and operation of an order-consolidation warehouse: Models and application†, European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 58, pp. 3-13. Hall, R.W., 1993. â€Å"Distance approximations for routing manual pickers in a warehouse†, IIE Transactions, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 76-87. Jarvis, J.M., McDowell, E.D., 1991. â€Å"Optimal product layout in an order picking warehouse†, IIE Transactions, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 93-102. Gattorna, J., 1997. Handbook of Logistics and Distribution management, 4th ed., Gower Publisher Company. Petersen, C.G., 1997. â€Å"An evaluation of order picking routing policies†, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1096-1111. Petersen, C.G., 2000. â€Å"An evaluation of order picking policies for mail order companies†, Production and Operations Management, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 319-335. Petersen, C.G., Aase, G., 2003. â€Å"A comparison of picking, storage and routing policies in manual order picking†, International Journal of Production Economics, in press. Petersen, C.G., Schmenner, R.W., 1998. â €Å"An evaluation of routing and volume-based storage policies in an order picking operation†, Decision Sciences, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 481-501. Ratliff, H.D., Rosenthal, A.S., 1983. â€Å"Order-picking in a rectangular warehouse: A solvable case of the traveling salesman problem†, Operations Research, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 507-521. Roodbergen, K.J., Koster, R., 2001. â€Å"Routing methods for warehouses with multiple cross aisles†, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 1865-1883. Schwarz, L.B., Graves, S.C., Hausman, W.H., 1978. â€Å"Scheduling policies for automatic warehousing systems: simulation results†, AIIE Transactions, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 260-270. Tompkins, J.A., Smith, J.D., 1998. The Warehouse Management Handbook, 2nd ed., Tompkins Press, Raleigh. Van den Berg, J.P., Zijm, W.H.M., 1999. â€Å"Models for warehouse management: Classification and examples†, International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 59, pp. 519-528.

Antigone :: essays research papers

Antigone Antigone and Ismene are sisters.   They have two brothers who just killed each other and both died.   Creon, whos very powerful, honored one and dishonored the other.   The dishonored brother being left outside, unburied, and prohibited anyone to cry or sympathetic on the dead body.   Antigone who came from a loyal family could not stand to see her brother died unburied, so she asked her sister to go with her to steal and bury   the brother-body. Unwillingly, Ismene affrighted of the law and did not agree with her sister.   So Antigone steal and bury the body by herself.   When Creon know this, he was very upset and order the army to get the one stole the body.   They catch Antigone and take her to Creon.   Antigone has not affraid of the execution which Creon would give.   Ismene, her sister came and said that she had a share in this matter. But Antigon claims to her own motivation.   Haemon is the only son of Creon.   He has not agree with what his father commands.   They argue about who is right to give commands.   Because Haemon had fallen in love with Antigone so he ran a way when his father gave order to kill Antigone.   But then, Creon orders to take Anigone to a locked-tomb.   A blind prophet named Teiresias go with a boy visit Creon and told him what he did was wrong.   At first Creon did not agree, but then after Teiresias gone.   He realized what he did was wrong so he called his servants to release Antigone.   But it was too late, a messenger came with the bad news that Creons son had killed himself.   The story did not stop there, another terrible news came to Creon that the queen is dead.   When Creons wife heard the news of her own son killed himself, she put violence upon herself and died.   Now Creon opens his eyes and see who is right to judge. He had learn a lesson of wisdom in a hard way. The Antigone has many arguments and it is hard to fingure out which one is the main one.   In the beginning   is the argument between Antigone and her sister. And then the argument between Creon and Sentry.   When Antigone was catch, she argue with Creon.   After that Creon argue with his only son.   After Antigone gone, the phopphet came and argue with Creon. In my own opinion, the main argument was about who has the right to judge people.   Creon said he is the highest and he has the right to tell people what

Reasons Behind the Industrial Revolution Essay -- Industrialization Pa

Reasons Behind the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the widespread replacement of labor by machines driven by water wheels, windmills and later by steam power. This change called the Industrial Revolution was a process, which began in the 18th century and continued well into the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution was the result of interrelated changes, which transformed agricultural economies into industrial ones. The immediate changes made by the Industrial Revolution were the nature of productions. This included what was produced, as well as where and how they were produced. The Industrial Revolution replaced the Domestic System; this was when goods that were traditionally made in home or small workshops began to be manufactured in large factories. The Industrial Revolution overturned not only traditional economies but also whole societies. Economic changes caused far reaching social changes, including the movement of people to cities in search of work, the availability of a greater variety of materials, and new ways of doing business. These are a few of the several reasons why the Industrial Revolution was so important. This essay will explain what caused the massive change in Britain's industry. One major cause of the Industrial Revolution was Britain's population increase. Between 1780 and 1851, the population of Britain grew rapidly. Historians do not agree about the specific causes of the population explosion, but it is clear that two main factors were at work. These were the rising birth rate and the falling death rate. For a variety of reasons people lived longer and the death rate fell significa... ...the new ideas and inventions in industry. The reason for this is because if it weren't for Britain's population increases the development of the industries would not have been so important. Another reason why I think Britain's population increase was one of the major causes of the Industrial Revolution, this is because Britain's industry would not improved so well if Britain's population did not assist. This is due to the fact that Britain's population provided cheap labor to work in the factories made for Britain's industry. The reason why the inventions made in Britain helped so much in causing the Industrial Revolution was because the new inventions ensured that modernization in machines could speed up the production in goods; which was very important. This essay has explained why there was an Industrial revolution.

Theory Paper

The social integration theory takes a look in to how relationships go from very basic and shallow to intimate strong relationships. I can relate to this theory in both my personal and professional life. In my current relationship with my wife we were at a point where our relationship was very shallow and TLD really mean anything. We hung out with each other and had fun with other but nothing was serious about It at all. As time went on and we learned more about each other we also grew to Like each other and wanted to spend more time with each other.The relationship was leaving he basic shallow phase to a more intimate phase. We began to spend time with each other exclusively without the company of others. This allowed out relationship to grow even deeper and more intimate. As we began to see each other exclusively we started to see our relationship grow and decided to make it official by getting married after three years of dating each other. I feel this theory played out well in my relationship with my wife and if very close of the description of the theory.In all relationships there is always room from improvement whether it is small improvements or large Improvements. There are ways In which I and in some cases where my wife feel as If some portions of the relationship moved forward without full use of the social penetration theory. The relationship continued to move towards Intimate levels without the really getting to know each other any better and some things we should have known about each other before marriage. In the future I will continue to get to know my wife the best way I know how to as we grow in our relationship together.On the other side I started a job with a company and had no intentions of staying with the company because it wasn't providing anything I needs as far as my goals for my career. As I worked the Job and continued to look for employment that was closer to my career goals. I purposely chose not to get to know my coworkers and did j ust the minimum of work Just to get by until I could find something better. As time went on I began to get to know my coworkers a little better and found out that they had interesting thing to say and I was able to learn a lot from them.A lot of my co workers are Hispanic and I am able to learn a lot about the efferent cultures and ways of life. I also have learned that the Job does have benefits that It can offer me by offering me bonuses based on our performance on the job that is relatively easy. Know I have a good relationship with my co workers The relationship with my Job could have been more effective is I would have went in to the Job with the intentions if doing my best and I would have been able to reap the benefits of the bonus early on and probably would have earned a higher position a lot earlier.I also would have gone in to the Job with a better attitude towards getting to know my coworkers. This could have built better relationships with my coworkers and could have me t some really good friends. The social penetration theory is very alive in my personal and professional life. With the Communication Privacy Management theory, it focuses on when and how people choose to reveal personal and private information about themselves to others. This theory is one that a of people use in their daily lives when meeting new people.I also use this theory as well when inviting someone new into my life or with someone I may already know deciding whether to trust them with additional information about myself. Whenever we meet someone new we may either be eager to get to know them or sometimes may be a little cautious about the person and want to take things slow and build up trust towards them. When we are eager to get to know someone we may reveal more about ourselves a lot quicker than we would in a normal situation.When we are more cautious we want to reveal as little about ourselves as possible in an effort to protect ourselves from someone we do not know. Th is is more common among people who may have been hurt or scared by someone they revealed information to too quickly. As we get to know the person more and more we tend to let them closer and trust them a little more which can result in offering them more information about ourselves. There are situations where we offer information to people we may not want to or people we do not know.This is often done when being questions for something such as a Job or by police. But for the most part people hold back their personal information until they feel more conformable offering it up to others. This theory also can relate to my currently employer as well. As mentioned with the revises theory I started this Job Just as filler and had no intentions of staying there because it didn't meet my career goals. I planned on keeping this information to myself and when I found a Job to meet my needs I would Just quit and start the new job with a career in mind.As I worked the Job more and more I was ab le to learn about other employees planning to leave the Job for another Job for several other reasons. At first I still didn't want to reveal my intentions to others because I didn't word spreading that I wanted to leave because the Job didn't have a lot of employees ND would be a process to replace me. I also was worried about them knowing and getting the process started in replacing me and get fired from the Job before I can find another. One day I was having a bad day because of a disagreement with my wife before work.When I went in to work I had a one on one with my manager who I began to feel more and more comfortable with. In this one on one she asked me what my plans were as far as growing with the company. I revealed to her that I had no plans and I was actually currently looking for employment with other companies that were more closely related to my career goals. I could have done this better by introducing the information about my desire to find employment with a company that was more catered to my career goals and possibly see if there is a position that he current company offers to allow me to grow to the position.Organizational Culture companies that hire new people they introduce them to the culture of the company in an effort to show them how things are done and who is important to the company and why. Companies also would like to show them how and why they do things within the company. All of this is true for the company I currently work for. Most line level employees can agree that they are told they are the most important people in the company and they are the meat and potatoes and are the ones that keep the company going.When these employees look at their paychecks they do not see how they are so important. Companies tend to use motivational talk to encourage employees to do their best rather than increase pay. They feel that if they make them feel important then they will try their best and be on board with the company core values and cult ure. In reality people who hold these positions have a completely efferent view as to how to feel important.At my current Job the same story I told to us stating that we are the most important people in the company but we are the lowest paid and most worked with greater expectations. In this situation a lot of employees feel used and feel as if they are being taken advantage of because they are told one thing but in reality thing are different. This creates a culture of employees that do not feel the same as the companies think they do or would like them to feel. This creates a culture inside of the culture that the company created which is in a way a culture of the employees.This is evident with a lot of companies now that have employees demanding better pay for the work that they do working for companies that may billions of dollars in months but pay their employees minimum wages. With all companies there will always be cultures inside of the company culture whether it is from val ues to religion or race; there will always be something to create smaller groups of people with similar goals, views, and values. In conclusion, the theories of communication offer us a deeper looking to the inner workings of immunization.With the inside look in to communication we have a better opportunities to communicate with those in our personal lives as well as with those in our professional lives. In all that can make us at all around better person to those we have relationships with as they grow and become more intimate relationships whether it is romantic or platonic. We also learn how we can choose to communicate certain nothings and choose when the best time is and place to do so bases on our feelings. Finally we can see how communication can affect organizations and cultures. Theory Paper The social integration theory takes a look in to how relationships go from very basic and shallow to intimate strong relationships. I can relate to this theory in both my personal and professional life. In my current relationship with my wife we were at a point where our relationship was very shallow and TLD really mean anything. We hung out with each other and had fun with other but nothing was serious about It at all. As time went on and we learned more about each other we also grew to Like each other and wanted to spend more time with each other.The relationship was leaving he basic shallow phase to a more intimate phase. We began to spend time with each other exclusively without the company of others. This allowed out relationship to grow even deeper and more intimate. As we began to see each other exclusively we started to see our relationship grow and decided to make it official by getting married after three years of dating each other. I feel this theory played out well in my relationship with my wife and if very close of the description of the theory.In all relationships there is always room from improvement whether it is small improvements or large Improvements. There are ways In which I and in some cases where my wife feel as If some portions of the relationship moved forward without full use of the social penetration theory. The relationship continued to move towards Intimate levels without the really getting to know each other any better and some things we should have known about each other before marriage. In the future I will continue to get to know my wife the best way I know how to as we grow in our relationship together.On the other side I started a job with a company and had no intentions of staying with the company because it wasn't providing anything I needs as far as my goals for my career. As I worked the Job and continued to look for employment that was closer to my career goals. I purposely chose not to get to know my coworkers and did j ust the minimum of work Just to get by until I could find something better. As time went on I began to get to know my coworkers a little better and found out that they had interesting thing to say and I was able to learn a lot from them.A lot of my co workers are Hispanic and I am able to learn a lot about the efferent cultures and ways of life. I also have learned that the Job does have benefits that It can offer me by offering me bonuses based on our performance on the job that is relatively easy. Know I have a good relationship with my co workers The relationship with my Job could have been more effective is I would have went in to the Job with the intentions if doing my best and I would have been able to reap the benefits of the bonus early on and probably would have earned a higher position a lot earlier.I also would have gone in to the Job with a better attitude towards getting to know my coworkers. This could have built better relationships with my coworkers and could have me t some really good friends. The social penetration theory is very alive in my personal and professional life. With the Communication Privacy Management theory, it focuses on when and how people choose to reveal personal and private information about themselves to others. This theory is one that a of people use in their daily lives when meeting new people.I also use this theory as well when inviting someone new into my life or with someone I may already know deciding whether to trust them with additional information about myself. Whenever we meet someone new we may either be eager to get to know them or sometimes may be a little cautious about the person and want to take things slow and build up trust towards them. When we are eager to get to know someone we may reveal more about ourselves a lot quicker than we would in a normal situation.When we are more cautious we want to reveal as little about ourselves as possible in an effort to protect ourselves from someone we do not know. Th is is more common among people who may have been hurt or scared by someone they revealed information to too quickly. As we get to know the person more and more we tend to let them closer and trust them a little more which can result in offering them more information about ourselves. There are situations where we offer information to people we may not want to or people we do not know.This is often done when being questions for something such as a Job or by police. But for the most part people hold back their personal information until they feel more conformable offering it up to others. This theory also can relate to my currently employer as well. As mentioned with the revises theory I started this Job Just as filler and had no intentions of staying there because it didn't meet my career goals. I planned on keeping this information to myself and when I found a Job to meet my needs I would Just quit and start the new job with a career in mind.As I worked the Job more and more I was ab le to learn about other employees planning to leave the Job for another Job for several other reasons. At first I still didn't want to reveal my intentions to others because I didn't word spreading that I wanted to leave because the Job didn't have a lot of employees ND would be a process to replace me. I also was worried about them knowing and getting the process started in replacing me and get fired from the Job before I can find another. One day I was having a bad day because of a disagreement with my wife before work.When I went in to work I had a one on one with my manager who I began to feel more and more comfortable with. In this one on one she asked me what my plans were as far as growing with the company. I revealed to her that I had no plans and I was actually currently looking for employment with other companies that were more closely related to my career goals. I could have done this better by introducing the information about my desire to find employment with a company that was more catered to my career goals and possibly see if there is a position that he current company offers to allow me to grow to the position.Organizational Culture companies that hire new people they introduce them to the culture of the company in an effort to show them how things are done and who is important to the company and why. Companies also would like to show them how and why they do things within the company. All of this is true for the company I currently work for. Most line level employees can agree that they are told they are the most important people in the company and they are the meat and potatoes and are the ones that keep the company going.When these employees look at their paychecks they do not see how they are so important. Companies tend to use motivational talk to encourage employees to do their best rather than increase pay. They feel that if they make them feel important then they will try their best and be on board with the company core values and cult ure. In reality people who hold these positions have a completely efferent view as to how to feel important.At my current Job the same story I told to us stating that we are the most important people in the company but we are the lowest paid and most worked with greater expectations. In this situation a lot of employees feel used and feel as if they are being taken advantage of because they are told one thing but in reality thing are different. This creates a culture of employees that do not feel the same as the companies think they do or would like them to feel. This creates a culture inside of the culture that the company created which is in a way a culture of the employees.This is evident with a lot of companies now that have employees demanding better pay for the work that they do working for companies that may billions of dollars in months but pay their employees minimum wages. With all companies there will always be cultures inside of the company culture whether it is from val ues to religion or race; there will always be something to create smaller groups of people with similar goals, views, and values. In conclusion, the theories of communication offer us a deeper looking to the inner workings of immunization.With the inside look in to communication we have a better opportunities to communicate with those in our personal lives as well as with those in our professional lives. In all that can make us at all around better person to those we have relationships with as they grow and become more intimate relationships whether it is romantic or platonic. We also learn how we can choose to communicate certain nothings and choose when the best time is and place to do so bases on our feelings. Finally we can see how communication can affect organizations and cultures.

Within this assignment the writer will outline the main roles and responsibilities of a social worker

Within this assignment the writer will outline the main roles and responsibilities of a social worker within this family. Legal and policy principles will be discussed, practical and appropriate theories and research studies will be included and finally, the discussion of oppression and how it may be affecting this family will also be included. The writer will begin by giving a definition of social work, quoted from the British Association Of Social Workers (BASW). The Association has adopted the following definition of social work issued by the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Schools of Social Work. It applies to social work practitioners and educators in every region and country in the world. â€Å"The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (2001)†. Stephanie is a single mother of two young children. At this present time in her life she is finding things difficult. Stephanie left school at the age of sixteen and shortly after leaving school she became pregnant with her first child, Naomi, who is now six years old. When Naomi was two years old, Stephanie left home and moved into a council flat of her own close by to her mother and two elder sisters. Stephanie's relationship with these members of her family is not particularly good. Stephanie's mother and sisters believe that Stephanie's partner Paul is a burden on her. Paul, who works unsociable hours as a taxi driver, claims to be living at home with his parents. However, this is not the case, as he spends most of his time at Stephanie's flat. Paul may spend time at Stephanie's flat but he does not spend any quality time with Stephanie or their children. Stephanie has become depressed over the last six months. She resents having to look after the children on her own and she also feels isolated. Stephanie has asked the Area Office for help as her income support book has been taken off her because the D.S.S. beliefs that she is cohabiting. Stephanie's second child, Christopher, is 18 months old and he has regular visits from a health visitor. The health visitor is worried about Christopher's development and weight gain. As regards Naomi, her school teacher has noticed a deterioration in her behaviour and is worried about Naomi appearing upset, tired and subdued. Naomi has come to school feeling hungry and dressed inappropriately. The social worker's role in planning an assessment is to plan for the assessment and, in order to account for the complexity of the task should gather and record information in a systematic and precise way, checking information with the children and parents. Where there are differences over information these should be recorded and strengths and difficulties should be acknowledged. The assessment should be child-centred and therefore the impact of the situation on the child must be clearly identified. (Parker, J. & Bradley, G. 2005 Page 20) The roles and responsibilities of social work are mostly decided by a legal policy framework. These policies may change to accommodate new issues in society. Principles should be acknowledged on what actions to take (See Appendix 1). If Naomi and Christopher will benefit from enrolment in a day care centre and certain needs will be met by this action, then the paramountcy principle will steer the social worker towards encouraging Stephanie to enrol them. To ignore the children's needs would be legally and ethically negligent (Dickson. D, page 10). The assessment will involve the social worker having an open mind and communicating with Stephanie on a level in which she understands, not using jargon that may confuse her. Any information gathered from Stephanie should be relevant to the case. All information gathered will always be monitored and recorded, everything that is being done will be explained to Stephanie as clients have the right to know what is happening at all times throughout the process (see Appendix 2). In any assessment as a social worker your own personal beliefs, values and biases must always be acknowledged, and also the impact your approach will have on the way the assessment is carried out (Parker, J. & Bradley, G. 2005 Page 7). Stephanie will be encouraged to make decisions and the social worker will promote her independence and assist her in understanding and exercising her rights as this will affect her and her families' future. Stephanie's personal views, values and beliefs should always be respected as she is an individual and has to be treated as one at all times. It is important to be open, honest and explicit with Stephanie throughout the procedure. If Stephanie knows that she can relay and depend on you, this will help in building confidence in your relationship with her. Stephanie should always be told if you are not going to be available and tell her why for example if you have other commitments for that particular time. As a Social worker, you must attempt to create and maintain the trust and confidence of Stephanie. It will be made clear to Stephanie that any information relating to the children that will cause harm or danger to them will be reported to an appropriate authority. Any complaints from Stephanie will be taken seriously and passed on to an appropriate person. The social worker will follow a risk assessment policy and procedure to assess whether Stephanie presents a risk to her children (Dickson D. pages 91-94). In making an assessment on behalf of Stephanie, the ‘assessment triangle' (see Appendix 3) and the ‘helping cycle' will both be used (see Appendix 4). In working with Stephanie on this case the social worker must take full responsibility for any actions carried out on behalf of Stephanie whether they are right or wrong (see appendix 5). It is important as a trainee social worker to know the importance of planning and tuning in for an assessment. Each case dealt with will be different to other cases. A key element of tuning in is â€Å"preparatory empathy†. This will involve putting yourself into Stephanie's shoes, feeling what she is feeling, looking at the situation from her point of view. For example, Stephanie may be feeling depressed and helpless as a result of isolation. Financial worries may cause her to feel resentful towards Paul as he is no help to her and the children. Does she feel unable to cope as a single parent and feel that she is a bad mother (Dickson D. p17)? As the social worker has a certain power they may be able to intervene. The D.S.S. can be contacted and Stephanie can apply for an emergency payment from them until the situation is resolved. If Stephanie's money is cut this could lead to more situations arising such as rent and electricity bills not getting paid as Stephanie will not be able to afford these. This will then cause further problems for Stephanie and the children. Stephanie may become more depressed and her parenting may be affected, and the children's needs could suffer. In planning an initial assessment it will be necessary to visit Stephanie and the children. Then it will be necessary to have a discussion with Stephanie and Paul and observe their living situation focusing on the three aspects of the assessment triangle; child's developmental needs, parenting capacity, family and environmental factors. Then it is necessary to explain the Departments policy of supporting children and families to stay together (Parker. J, and Bradley. G, 2005 page 21). In the assessment of Naomi and Christopher, both of the children's development of progress will be examined, in relation to each child's age and stage of development. There must be an understanding of what the children need to achieve successfully at each stage of their development, in order to ensure that they will both have the opportunity to achieve their full potential(DOH Frame Work Assessment 1999 page 18). Providing a range of services from a multi-disciplinary team requires a high degree of co-operation and co-ordination from the professionals involved. It is to be noted that central to the whole process should be the needs and wishes of the service user. The team will include not only the professionals but also Stephanie and her family. Therefore, Stephanie's involvement and participation in her social and health care provision is taken to be fundamental. The legal definition of need is set out in article 17 of the Children's (NI) Order (1995). The Children's Order states that a child is in need if, he or she is unlikely to achieve or maintain or to have an opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services (www.opsi.gov.uk). The Children's (NI) Order article 17 (1995) is based on a clean and consistent set of principles designed with the common aim of promoting the welfare of children, the rights of parents exercising their responsibilities towards their children and the duty of the state to intervene to promote and protect the welfare of children in need or at risk. The principles of the Children Order NI 1995 can be seen at www.opsi.gov.uk. As a student social worker it is necessary to adhere to the legislation put in place. Assessment is an ongoing process, in which the client participates, the purpose of which is to understand people in relation to their environment; it is the basis for planning what needs to be done to maintain, improve or bring about change in the person, the environment or both (Coulshed V, p.21). The Assessment framework will be used to assess Stephanie's case. Good assessment is crucial for the well-being of the children and the family. It has to be noted that the welfare of the children is paramount at all times. The assessment triangle will be looked at for both of the children. The first dimension of the triangle is The Child's Developmental Needs. There are seven areas in this dimension. The first area to be examined is health. Both Naomi and Christopher's health is an issue as this relates to their development as well as their physical and mental well-being. Genetic factors can be taken into consideration on health issues. As Stephanie is suffering with depression, she may not realise that the children are not receiving an adequate diet and as a result of this their health can suffer. Then there is education. This covers the children's cognitive development, which begins at birth. It includes playing and interacting with other children, access to books, to acquire a range of skills and interests, to experience success and achievement. An adult should be involved in the education of Naomi and Christopher. Stephanie should encourage her children to learn in different ways. Emotional needs and development are the concerns by appropriate responses demonstrated in the children's feelings and actions. As Naomi's teacher has noticed a change in behaviour, this will be looked at. Christopher's development will also be looked at because the health visitor has noticed that he is not developing as well as he should be. The identity of the children may affected if Stephanie's depression continues. The identity is related to how the children view themselves and their feelings of acceptance by the family and society will have an impact on this. Family and Social Relationships includes having a good relationship with parents and siblings. The children are at a young age but this may be taken into consideration as it may have an affect on them in developing relationships in later life. Their Social Presentation will be looked at, as Naomi's behaviour has deteriorated and she is also dressed inappropriately. The final area to be examined is Self Care Skills. If Naomi sees that there is something wrong with her mother, she might begin to take over some parental roles. She may be very young but she would be capable of doing things such as dressing herself and her little brother (Frame Work Assessment page 19). The next dimension of the triangle is the Parenting Capacity. Is Stephanie providing Basic Care, which includes providing for the children's physical and appropriate medical needs? Are the children receiving food, warmth, shelter, clean and appropriate clothing and adequate personal hygiene? (See Appendix 6) Is Stephanie Ensuring Safety for the children? This can mean in the home and elsewhere, for instance, crossing roads. Are the children receiving Emotional Warmth? Stephanie may not be capable of this because she is suffering with depression. She may not realise it, but at times she may not respond to the children's needs. Physical contact such as giving the children a hug can demonstrate emotional warmth. Are the children receiving Stimulation from their parents? If Paul is not spending any time with the children and Stephanie is feeling low, this will have an effect on their stimulation. The children should be in a routine and be encouraged with different tasks such as schoolwork; this will facilitate them both to meet challenges, which they will face in life. Guidance and Boundaries enable children to regulate their own emotions and behaviour. Are Stephanie and Paul preparing their children for the development of later life when they will need to know what's right and what's wrong? Self-values' and conscience are learnt through this process. If the children have no emotional support there is a danger that normal rules and boundaries within the family could break down. There is a risk of children's schoolwork and behaviour suffering as a result of the situation not being resolved quickly (Frame Work Assessment page 21). The final stage of the assessment triangle that has to be looked at is the Family and Environmental Factors. The writer will begin by examining Family History and Functioning. The children's inheritance includes both genetic and psycho-social factors. Family functioning is influenced by who is living in the house. At this stage we have to look at the fact of Paul being there. Is it doing more harm than good? Wider family members such as Stephanie's mother and sisters may be helpful in getting Stephanie back on track. It could be beneficial for all of them to come together and have a discussion about the current situation. Is the Housing adequate for the family? If Stephanie's money has been cut, will she be able to keep the home warm for the children? Is the house clean? Employment is another issue. Is Paul's pattern of work suitable? Would it be possible for Stephanie to get employment? Both these questions have an impact on the children. Income, is there enough income to provide basic needs for the children? Stephanie's benefits have been cut, this will have a major impact on the family? Will Paul help out? What are the financial difficulties that will affect the children? Families Social Integration. Stephanie feels isolated. This is not good for any of the family as she is the main carer. Stephanie should be encouraged to take up a hobby or night class. This will develop her confidence and it will have an impact on the children. The social worker should give Stephanie information on Community Resources i.e what is available for the family in the community such as play groups, mother and toddler groups, summer schemes, education learning centres, family centres. Local groups such as STEER and Gingerbread may be able to help and advise the family. From this assessment it is clear that Stephanie is at secondary level 2 of the Table For Guidance On Thresholds For Intervention For Services For Children In Need (See Appendix 7). We have to work with Stephanie now and prevent her from reaching level 3 (Frame Work Assessment page 24). We can work with a multidisciplinary team to resolve any issues that have developed. To oppress a person is to treat them in a very harsh and unfair way and cause them to feel anxious or distressed, (a definition from the Oxford Dictionary). As a result of this family living in poverty they will be oppressed. This will have a high impact on all of the family and also cause different problems. The family may be stigmatised. Teachers in Naomi's school may have labeled Stephanie as being an unfit parent without knowing any of the facts about her situation. Where is the poverty coming from and what is the reason that this family is living in poverty? There are many reasons for poverty to occur within families. Because Stephanie is female she may be discriminated against when trying to gain employment. She may have little or no education. The question has to be asked if she was employed would she be provided with childcare? All aspects have to be looked at and must be taken into consideration when Stephanie is looking at herself as a person and parent (Thompson, N. 2001). As Stephanie is not working, Paul is the main earner for the family but he is not providing for them in such a way that they can live without money worries. Paul is also claiming to be living at his parents house, so he is not taking any responsibility for the income of the family. Stephanie is the one that does everything in the household and paying the bills is a major role. Stephanie's strengths and weaknesses could be looked at and developed. Stephanie may have the capability of returning to education and getting some qualifications, which would enable her to gain employment. With the help of her mother and sisters she could develop her confidence and this will also play a major part on reducing her depression. Stephanie may be taking medication for her depression but the social worker can look at other methods of treatment such as cognitive therapy. Stephanie has to look at her relationship with Paul and ask herself if she is doing the right thing for her children by letting him stay in their home. Stephanies' mother would like to see Paul out of her daughters life which is not possible as he has a right to see his children, but she can encourage Stephanie and support her if this is what it takes.