Senior Iraqi al

This news story gives the press statement issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, and U.S. officials. The statement said that two officials of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdad, were killed when Iraqi forces with U.S. support attacked their hideout (â€Å"Al-Qaeda in Iraq says leaders dead†; â€Å"Iraq al-Qaeda leaders killed in rocket attack†).Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Senior Iraqi al-Qaeda leaders ‘killed’, news analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The subject matter in this story is that both the U.S. and Iraq saw the killings as a major breakthrough in the War on Terror. This is because the demise of the terrorists was a significant blow to the operations of al-Qaeda in Iraq and in the world. In reporting this story, the writers of the news articles use selective data in reporting this useful information. The writers pick o nly information that supports the argument in the story and leaves everything else out. Since al-Qaeda is a global terrorist organization, the deaths of these two men could not have such a huge impact on the operations of the group as postulated by the writers. The story is believable since it is based on evidence; even al-Qaeda itself acknowledged the death of the two men. In reporting this story, the writes do not ignore counter-arguments. For example, the BBC news reports, â€Å"al-Qaeda had tried to camouflage Baghdadi by presenting several people with his name† (â€Å"Senior Iraqi al-Qaeda leaders ‘killed,† para. 18). Therefore, they give evidence to support the identity of the terrorists. Of all the information that has been presented in this story, the writers mainly emphasize on the reduction in al-Qaeda’s influence following the demise of its top leaders. The implication of this story is that we are able to see the growth of democratic principles in Iraq. Following this attack by the Iraqi government, several Iraqis criticized how the attack was handled. Some years back in Iraq, no one could be heard criticizing the Iraqi government. In presenting the story, the writers present some statements or overtones of values and emotions. For example, an al-Qaeda official was quoted saying, â€Å"you can kill our top guy but we’re still around and we’re in control of events† (Rising, para. 26). In this instance, the writer tries to bring the feeling that War on Terror is still something that needs a collaborative effort in order to be won. Regarding word choice, the writers chose the most appropriate language that is able to persuade the readers to come to terms with the issue at hand. Since in times of war, clarity is usually the first casualty, the writers portrayed vigilance in protecting news statement from collateral damage.Advertising Looking for critical writing on international relations? Let's see i f we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When reporting controversial statements, they preferred quoting the source directly. For example, â€Å"Can al-Qaeda pull off†¦how do Iraqis respond?†(Rising, para. 27). The story is written objectively by paying attention to fairness, factuality, and nonpartisanship. After the two terrorists were killed, the writers quoted response statements from both the Iraqi government officials and the al-Qaeda officials. This story was written when the Iraqi government, with the support of the U.S., was involved in efforts of reducing the threat that was posed by al-Qaeda in Iraq. Since the announcement was made by the Iraqi Prime Minister, al-Maliki, it indicated the effort its government was making in fighting the insurgents. The writers have given this story against the background of the hotly contested election results in Iraq. After this incident, he gained reputation as the one who can restore stability to the country once again. Works Cited â€Å"Al-Qaeda in Iraq says leaders dead.† News: Middle East. Aljazeera. 25 April 2010. Web. Galey, Patrick. â€Å"Thousands march in Beirut to promote secularism in politics.† Be seen,  be on the star scene. The Daily Star. 30 April 2010. Web. â€Å"Iraq al-Qaeda leaders killed in rocket attack.† New statesman. New Statesman. 20 April 2010. Web. This critical writing on Senior Iraqi al-Qaeda leaders ‘killed’, news analysis was written and submitted by user Cali Howell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Director John Waters as auteur.

Director John Waters as auteur. John Waters is a true auteur. He uses many of the same themes and images throughout his films. The John Waters' films that I viewed were Hairspray (1988), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), and Cecil B. Demented (2000). Consistent themes in these films included the use of the same actors, Waters' love for scandal ridden celebrities, all were located in Baltimore, comedic portrayals of sex, outcasts, altercations with the police, and a shot of a mouse, rat or gerbil.Hairspray is the story of Tracy Turnblatt, a chubby hair hopper in 1960s Baltimore. Waters uses many of his stock actors in this movie, drag queen, Divine in the dual role of Tracy's mother and the television station owner that runs The Corny Collins Show, Mink Stole as Tracy's best friend's mother, Alan J. Wendl as Hefty Hideaway shop owner, Mr. Pinky and starring as Tracy Turnblatt, Waters' muse, the incomparable Ricki Lake.Cecil B. DementedWith the exception of Divine who died shortly after this movie was made, all of these actors appear in all four of these films. Tracy longs to be on The Corny Collins Show, Baltimore's poor man's version of American Bandstand. Through luck, fate and pure chutzpah, she makes it onto the show, becomes a council member and even steals the cutest boy on the show away from the most popular girl in all of Baltimore. According to Curry, Hairspray is a "musical comedy film about desegregation in Baltimore during the early 1960's. Waters revives the turbulent times as a backdrop to a television dance show phenomenon. (Curry, 1996)The expected Waters penchant for media celebrities, past and present, pops up here and there in Cry-Baby with cameos by David Nelson, Patty Hearst, who shows up again in Serial Mom and Cecil B. Demented, Joey Heatherton, Troy Donahue, Iggy...

Language and society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Language and society - Research Paper Example Cultural diversity has brought in different ways through which people interact and communicate to each other. In our informal and formal interactions, we use various titles to show honor to our colleagues, to identify gender and to recognize the marital status of an individual. Different cultures use titles differently due to difference in the languages that we use. Various titleshave been used for many years in Anglophone cultures to show gender and marital status. Other languages, e.g. French, also use equivalent formsof these titles to show gender. The main concern is how the different languages use various titles to show gender and other aspects of the human life such as education, respect in the society, marital status and so on. This paper investigates this matter in a more elaborate way since it uses data from various cultures, does comparison of these data to find if there exists any differences in how the world uses titles. It therefore uses both practical and theoretical ap proach to this matter. The Anglophone cultures have widely used titles to indicate marital status and gender.The general title for men is ‘Mr.’, while for women it is ‘Mrs.’ for those who are married and Miss for the unmarried. These terms have a long history since their use started in the olden days (Buxton, 2014). This shows how sexism is seriously emended in this culture and how it stresses on women’s marital status. The same case exists around the world in other cultures. Let us take for example the Portuguese language, which uses the following titles: The main question is whetheruse of these titles mark marital status. In the history of the Portuguese culture, marital status did not bring in name changes, i.e. women did not adopt their husband’s names. This phenomenon has changed over the recent past since nowadays women do adopt the names of their husbands. At the same time, women

Federal Reserve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Federal Reserve - Essay Example For e.g. an increase in the purchasing by the central bank in the security market increases the amount of money that people has and it increases the money supply in the economy. Similarly, selling of these securities in the money market dampens the people buying power and reduces the money supply in the economy. 1c) Funding: This option is probably the most effective of the lot to change the money supply in the economy. By funding we mean that the central bank changes the composition of national debt in order alter the money supply in the economy. When it wants to reduce the money supply in the economy it issue more illiquid assets to fund the national debt like long-term securities. Similarly, when it wants to increase the money supply in the economy it funds the national debt by issuing liquid assets, such as treasury bills. 4A) During the last year (2008), we witnessed a severe recession. In order to lubricate the economy towards growth many governments decided to reduce the interest rates in order to increase the aggregate demand and lead the economy towards growth. The graph in this site shows, how rapidly interest rates were decreased in Australia following this recession. (http://www.news.com.au/money/interest-rates) The government of USA conducted more open market... r recession, the U.S government is trying to increase the money supply in the economy by funding major chunk of their debt with treasury bills which are liquid assets. (http://home.att.net/mwhodges/debt.htm) The government of USA conducted more open market operations than ever before in 2008. During this period they bought more securities than they sold. This increased the money supply in the economy and reduced the impact of recession. (http://www.zerohedge.com/article/open-market-operations-and-statistics) 4B) The best strategy for me to control the money supply in the economy will be Funding. Funding is twice as effective as open market operations as it reduces the overall money supply in the economy and not just of the commercial banks. This method has very satisfying result for government all over the world as it saturates money completely from the economic pipeline. The only disadvantage of this method is that it cannot be use as a tool for short-term strategy. If for example, after a small period of time, the government decides to increase the money supply, it won't be able to do so, because long-term securities had already been issued. Work Cited: Lipsey and Chrystal. (2001). Economics. Oxford University Press

Companys Social Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Companys Social Performance - Essay Example Company’s Social Performance Describe your company and analyze the various primary and secondary stakeholder groups, their roles, and relationships The company is a medium–sized chocolate producing corporation known as ‘St. Louis Delights’.The company specializes in the production of popular treats such as chocolate dipped caramels, with and without condiments such as pecans. The company is rapidly expanding even though at present it has only 35 employees, some of whom work on a part-time basis. St. Louis Delights currently produces more than 15,000 chocolate treats on a daily basis. With most of the chocolates products sold by other retailers being somewhat conventional, St. Louis Delights has created a whole new line of treats that is aimed at catering for the diverse tastes of chocolate fans all over the world. So far, St. Louis Delights has produced goods for fairs such as corporate events as well as weddings and other parties. The company also creates distinctive theme –products in different seasons such as during Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and the Chinese New Year. Recently, the company also staged a ‘chocolate tasting workshop’ so that customers could be introduced to exciting new creations produced by St. Louis Delights. The primary stakeholders of St. Louis Delights are its customers, stockholders, suppliers, creditors, and workers. Just as other corporations, St. Louis Delights has to realize profits for its principal investors. ... um, apart from its website, in which the company’s clients are able to discuss their views on different products as well as company policies (Freeman, Harrison, Wicks, Parmar, & De Colle, 2010). In this way, the company will also be able to determine what needs to be improved. This will also help company officials to learn how best to communicate with clients or catch their interest. The company could also learn how to better market its products to different sectors of the population by listening to the comments and advice of its customers. By monitoring the effect of any adjustments it makes, the company will be able to reassess its priorities as well as fine tune its methods of communication. Recommend ways the stakeholders can influence the destiny of your business For St. Louis Delights, customers are viewed as being the single most important stakeholder group that can foment change in company strategies as well as operations. The company has been making profits that allow for further expansion due to the loyalty of customers. At present, St. Louis Delights is involved in considering the next place in which to open new branches. Naturally, this decision will be determined by the notion of where customers are most likely to want to come to. Executives have to take into consideration the thought of where the customers are most likely to feel comfortable shopping at. The company also has to take into account the customer demographic it is looking to attract. For instance, it has to consider whether the customers will drive or walk to its proposed next franchise. In this case, it would be better to locate the franchise at an up market area that is a walking distance from residential houses. So far, it is the up market customers who appreciate uniqueness who have

Effect of Pay for Performance Model on Healthcare

Effect of Pay for Performance Model on Healthcare Priscilla Hernandez As the federal agency responsible for the Medicare program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services needed to ensure that beneficiaries received the highest quality care. The implementation of the pay for performance programs by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may have the source for improvement of the care delivered to Medicare patients. In 2006, a Health Law Review article defined pay for performance as â€Å"a reimbursement method under which some physicians and hospitals are paid more than others for the same services because they have been deemed to deliver better quality care and their patients appear to have better outcomes† (Mayes 17-22). Through these pay for performance programs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would incentivize or penalize providers (e.g., hospitals, physicians, home health agencies) based on their performance on clinical, outcome and patient experience measures. For decades, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other insurance payers have reimbursed providers using a fee-for-service payment model. The term fee- for-service is defined as â€Å"a method in which doctors and other healthcare providers paid for each service performed†¦.services include tests and office visits† (Healthcare.gov). In their 2011 Health Law Review article, the opinion of Mayes and Walradt was that the P4P program was â€Å"developed largely in response to the cost control problems and perverse incentives associated with fee-for service reimbursement, which is the dominant model in the US† (1). Throughout the last ten years, Congress has enacted legislation such as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010, as a means of moving away from this fee-for-service model to a pay for reporting model and eventually to a pay for performance model (Frequently Asked Questions 8). The journey to ensure improved patient care began with the creation of the pay for reporting programs. The pay for reporting programs included the Hospital Quality Alliance, the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Acute Payment Update later known as the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and the Reporting Physician Quality Reporting System. The pay for performance programs included the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program, the Physician Value Modifier and the Accountable Care Organizations. The following paragraph will give a brief history of the transition of the pay for reporting program to the pay for performance program. In 2005, as a result of the Modernization Act of 2003, hospitals voluntarily submitted data on ten quality measures to avoid a 0.4 percentage points reduction in their annual payment update for fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Hospital Quality Initiative 3). The quality measures focused on four conditions or diseases that were among the most common, most expensive to treat and most serious conditions for Medicare beneficiaries. These conditions were acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care improvement (Hospital Quality Initiative 4). Between 2004 and 2007, the measures increased from ten to thirty-six. The signing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 brought six additional measures and hospitals who did not voluntarily report were at risk of a 2.0 percentage point reduction to their annual payment update for fiscal y ear 2009. The 2009 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services paper, â€Å"Roadmap for Implementing Value-driven Health Care in the Traditional Medicare Fee-for-Service Program†, notes that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed moving from a pay-for-reporting program to a pay-for-performance program as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (14). The start of this pay for performance program, which was best known as the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program would change the future and the practice of medicine in hospitals and other healthcare facilities for many years to come. This program drove the most change in care provided to Medicare patients. According to CMS.gov: On April, 29, 2011, the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services issued the final rule establishing the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program†¦This program, which was established by the Affordable Care Act, [would] implement pay-for-performance†¦The final rule adopt[ed] performance measures, drawn from the measure set that hospitals have been reporting under the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program. During his presentation at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on September 14, 2009, Michael T. Rapp, MD, JD, FACEP, Director, Quality Measurement, and Health Assessment Group, listed the supporters for the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program. Supporters included the Institute of Medicine, private health plans, and employer coalitions. When the Institute of Medicine released their â€Å"To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality of Chasm Report† they called for â€Å"raising standards and expectations for improvements in safety through the actions of oversight organizations, professional groups, and group purchasers of health care† (6). The support for the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program could be seen as early as November 1999 in the IOM report, â€Å"One way this can happen is by purchasers and consumers requesting and using information to direct their business to the best organizations and providers in a community† (19). For many years, th e need for standardization of care was needed and no other program but the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program could have brought that change. The quality of care given by providers would now be an open book and this would surely drive significant change. The supporters felt the program would bring change but there were also those opposing the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program. Opposition for the program came from hospitals, state hospital associations, and physician associations. Those with oppositions felt the program would pose significant operational challenges due to the number of measures being reported. Smaller hospitals would have the most challenges due to hiring additional work force to perform the chart abstraction required to report on the measures. Some measures would also require changes in processes that often take financial resources. To summarize the 2008 Modern Healthcare article, many healthcare groups felt the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was heading in the right direction by implementing the Value Based Purchasing Program but felt such a program should not be used to reduce Medicare spending (Lubell 1). The healthcare groups felt the program would lose credibility among providers since it was o nly a short-term fix to reduce Medicare spending (Lubell 2). The first year of payment with the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program would be fiscal year 2013. With this program, hospitals would need to show improvement over the baseline during the performance period. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established that the baseline period would come from measures previously reported to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program for discharges from July 1, 2009 – March 31, 2010 and the performance period would be July 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012. The initial measures included twelve of the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program measures. Since these were the original pay for reporting measures, many hospitals had already been working on improving their performance. The use of previously reported measures also helped many facilities know where they needed to improve. The results of patient satisfaction surveys would also be part of the program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services required hospital s to survey patients with a survey know as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The initial measures were all measures that focused on processes. These included providing discharge instructions to patients, controlling a patient’s glucose after having heart surgery and ordering venous thromboembolism prophylaxis to surgical patients. Although patients would have better outcomes, such as less pulmonary embolisms and less infections with these measures, the use of process of care based measures would only show improvement in changes made to processes. The process measures that showed the most improvement over the baseline included Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Received Within 90 minutes of Hospital Arrival and Postoperative Urinary Catheter Removal on Post Operative Day 1 or 2. The Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention measure improved by 1.9% from 93.44% to 95.34% showing the percentage of heart attack patients who had the blocked vessel causing the heart attack to be opened up with in 90 minutes of arriving to the hospital. The urinary catheter improved from 92.86% to 95.79% for an overall improvement of 2.93%. Surgical patients often need a urinary catheter after surgery. If left in place for too long patients can develop an infection. This indicator measured the percentage of patients who had their urinary catheter removed with in first or second day after they had surgery. These two measures are some of the few process measures that made a difference in the care and outcome of patients. The Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention measure improved the chances of survival for heart attack patients and the urinary catheter measure helped prevent infections. Patients who survived a heart attack as a result of the care they received at a hospital are surely to tell others of their experience. Word of mouth is the most common source of recommendation for a product, restaurant, or even hospital. The New York Times reiterates this in an October 2013 article by stating, â€Å"While private and public payers are making important progress on performance measures and outcomes-based reimbursement, patients still rely largely on the recommendations of loved ones and friends about the quality of care provided by individual doctors, hospitals and other providers†(Blando 2). Although this may be true, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services still created the Hospital Compare website. The website would provide consumers information on how hospitals compared to other hospitals on each of the process of care measures. The website could be compared to the Consumer Reports website in that prior to making a major purchase consumers can research information on the quality of the product they plan on purchasing. This website would enable the consumer to make an informed decisio n regarding their healthcare. It also opened up a world of transparency for hospitals and consumers. Quality data on hospitals had never been shared with their competitors or their patients. Hospitals changed many processes in order to improve their performance of the measures that were displayed on the Hospital Compare website. Can it be determined if there has been improvement in the care provided or is it still to early to tell? In an attempt to answer this question, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contracted with the Rand Corporation to evaluate the effects of the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program. In 2014, the Rand Corporation released their research report entitled â€Å"Measuring Success in Health Care Value-Based Purchasing Programs†. Their research found only â€Å"49 studies that examined the effect of P4P on process and intermediate outcome measures† (xxi). The RAND article states, â€Å"Any identified effects were relatively small† (xxii). When compared to the initial baseline period, the process of care measures have shown improvement during the performance periods. This journey has been painful for so many facilities. Many of which were not prepared for how quickly the pay for performance program would become reality. Although this program has increased the amount of work for facilities, many have worked diligently to ensure the changes needed to processes to improve patient care were implemented. Improvement in care will only be seen with the implementation of outcomes based measures. As stated above, more heart attack patients have survived. Fewer infections from urinary catheters being taken out in a timely manner will most likely be seen. In the future, the outcome measures should be better predictors of the effects of the pay for performance program. Examples of outcomes based indicators includes measuring readmissions back to hospitals, measuring infections and measuring mortality of patients for the four common conditions mentioned in the previous paragraphs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services only recently implemented these outcomes measures. As with the process of care measures, until additional years of data are available their effect cannot be determined. At this time with the limited data available, it is s till too early to tell if the Hospital Value Based Purchasing program has made an impact on the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

Revolutions :: essays research papers

One of the six revolutions that I have studied independently is the Glorious Revolution. The Glorious Revolution took place in England during 1688 to 1689. James II and the Catholic church were in control of the land. The old regime was James II, along with the Catholic church. James II, the second surviving son of Charles I, became king of England in 1685. James crushed two revolts upon his newly found land. One, controlled by his nephew, James Scott, duke of Monmouth, and the other controlled by Archibald Campbell, ninth earl of Argyll. The people were not happy with his performance handling these revolts. James had also ended religious restrictions in 1687, which caused an increase religious tension. On June 10, 1688, William of Orange, later to become William III, was asked to take the throne of England, there by starting the beginning of the revolution. So, now Parliament and William of Orange and his wife Mary and the Catholic church help all the power in England, being the moderates of the revolution. Seeing, as how there were no radicals, there could be no accession of them, nor could there be a reign of terror. Convalescence was reached when Mary and William signed the Declaration of Power. Also, there was now a ruler again. According to Crane Brinton’s "Course That Revolutions Seem To Take", there is only one situation that occurred in the Glorious Revolution. Revolutionaries gain power and seem united. This was shown by how William and Mary and Parliament and the Catholic Church all joined up together to rule over England successfully. None of the other 9 happened during this revolution. I don’t believe that the Glorious Revolution was a revolution at all. First off, the only two things that the people didn’t like were that there was a lot of religious tension and that they thought James was a bad ruler because he was trying to protect the country. I surely hope that Bill Clinton would try to protect us from any outside enemies that tried to take over The United States.

American History X Essay

American History X is a film that centered on two brothers and how their lives changed when their father died. The story revolved around discrimination and racism. But most importantly, the movie emphasized the capability of an individual to change. The main character, Derek Vinyard, transformed into a racist when his father died â€Å"in the line of duty by a minority† and when he killed two black men who tried to rob him. Before he entered prison, Derek had already a preconceived notion that Blacks were menace to the society and that the Whites were the superior race. However, inside the penal complex, he found out that â€Å"there is good and bad in every race. † So to prevent his younger brother, Danny, from committing the same mistakes, Derek encouraged him to be open-minded and disregard all the things that were inculcated to him when they were members of the Neo-Nazi group (IMDb). This movie was able to show three sociological concepts namely: differential association, racism and social inequality. Differential association is a learning theory which focused on the processes by which individuals come to commit criminal acts (Hamlin). In the film, this was shown when Derek joined the neo-Nazi group; he started to adapt a more delinquent lifestyle like thrashing the local grocery store. Meanwhile, racism is defined as the idea that race sets the difference in the personality or competency of an individual which results to some race being better than the others (Eckert). This concept was portrayed when Seth and Danny were having a conversation. Seth asked Danny who he hated and Danny replied, â€Å"I hate anyone that isn’t white Protestant. They’re a burden to the advancement of the white race† (Kaye). Lastly would be social inequality which refers to the â€Å"ways in which socially-defined categories of persons (according to characteristics such as gender, age, ‘class’ and ethnicity) are differentially positioned with regard to access to a variety of social ‘goods’ like education† (Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies). In the movie, this was represented when two Black guys were trying to steal Derek’s truck. This shows how some races are well off than the others because they have better jobs, houses and benefits. I think American History X is an eye-opening film about the presence of discrimination, prejudice and hatred in the society due to difference in race. More so, the movie tried to relay the message that delinquency is learned and it can be unlearned if an individual is put in a better environment. When Derek went to prison, he realized that race was not a major issue that separated one individual from another; it was more on how a person presented himself/herself to a group. In the end, it would always be every man for himself in this dog eat dog world. Works Cited â€Å"American History X. † 2009. IMDb. 28 May 2009 American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. New Line Cinema, 1999. â€Å"New Dimensions of Social Inequality? † n. d. Centre for East European Language-Based Area Studies. 28 May 2009 Eckert, Susan. â€Å"What is Racism, Prejudice, Discrimination, Bias, and Xenophobia? 7 December 2007. Suite101. com. 28 May 2009 Hamlin, John. â€Å"Differential Association Theory. † March 2006. University of Minnesota Duluth. 28 May 2009

Competitive Advantage in Fast Fashion

*CHAPTER* 3 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE *IN THE* FAST FASHION Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothing collections which are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year. These trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower price. This chapter highlights the sources of competitive advantage that may exist inside the field of fast fashion, as shown in Figure 3. , studying in detail the major players who are part of: H&M, Gap, Zara and Benetton. {draw:frame} FIGURE 3. 1 : THE SOURCES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE *3. 1 *SUPPLY CHAIN A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier) to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered t o the end customer. In sophisticated supply chain systems, used products may re-enter the supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable. Supply chains are increasingly being seen as integrated entities, and closer relationships between the organizations throughout the chain can bring competitive advantage, reduce costs, and help to maintain a loyal customer base. There are two main differences to value chains: Supply chains are more detailed since they incorporate not only activities. Supply chains connect intra-organizational value chains by products, services, and information flows. Supply chains underlie value-chains because, without them, no producer has the ability to give customers what they want, when and where they want, at the price they want. Producers compete with each other only through their supply chains, and no degree of improvement at the producer's end can make up for the deficiencies in a supply chain which reduce the producer's ability to compete. {draw:frame} FIGURE 3. 2: EXAMPLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN A typical supply chain begins with ecological and biological regulation of natural resources, followed by the human extraction of raw material, and includes several production links (e. . , component construction, assembly, and merging) before moving on to several layers of storage facilities of ever-decreasing size and ever more remote geographical locations, and finally reaching the consumer. All organizations have supply chains of varying degrees, depending upon the size of the organization and the type of product manufactured. These networks obtain supplies and components, change these materials into finished products and then distribute them to the customer. Managing the chain of events in this process is what is known as supply chain management. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) defines Supply Chain Management as follows â€Å"Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. Supply Chain Management is an integrating function with primary responsibility for linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies into a cohesive and high-performing business model. It includes all of the logistics management activities noted above, as well as manufacturing operations, and it drives coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales, product design, finance and information technology. Effective management must take into account coordinating all the different pieces of this chain as quickly as possible without losing any of the quality or customer satisfaction, while still keeping costs down. The first step is obtaining a customer order, followed by production, storage and distribution of products and supplies to the customer site. Customer satisfaction is paramount. Included in this supply chain process a re customer orders, order processing, inventory, scheduling, transportation, storage, and customer service. A necessity in coordinating all these activities is the information service network. In addition, key to the success of a supply chain is the speed in which these activities can be accomplished and the realization that customer needs and customer satisfaction are the very reasons for the network. Reduced inventories, lower operating costs, product availability and customer satisfaction are all benefits which grow out of effective supply chain management. Furthermore, market demands, customer service, transport considerations, and pricing constraints all must be understood in order to structure the supply chain effectively. These are all factors, which change constantly and sometimes unexpectedly, and an organization must realize this fact and be prepared to structure the supply chain accordingly. 3. 1. 1 DECISIONS ON THREE LEVELS Supply chain management decisions are often said to belong to one of three levels; the strategic, the tactical, or the operational level. Figure 3. shows the three level of decisions as a pyramid shaped hierarchy. The decisions on a higher level in the pyramid will set the conditions under which lower level decisions are made {draw:frame} FIGURE 3. 3 HIERARCHY OF SUPPLY CHAIN DECISIONS On the strategic level long term decisions are made. According to Ganeshan and Harrison, these are related to location, production, inventory, and transportation. Location decisions are concerned with the size, number, and geo graphic location of the supply chain entities, such as plants, inventories, or distribution centers. The production decisions are meant to determine which products to produce, where to produce them, which suppliers to use, from which plants to supply distribution centers, and so on. Inventory decisions are concerned with the way of managing inventories throughout the supply chain. Transport decisions are made on the modes of transport to use. Decisions made on the strategic level are of course interrelated. For example decisions on mode of transport are influenced by decisions on geographical placement of plants and warehouses, and inventory policies are influenced by choice of suppliers and production locations. Modeling and simulation is frequently used for analyzing these interrelations, and the impact of making strategic level changes in the supply chain. On the tactical level medium term decisions are made, such as weekly demand forecasts, distribution and transportation planning, production planning, and materials requirement planning. The operational level of supply chain management is concerned with the very short term decisions made from day to day. Figure 3. 4 shows for each level types of decisions made. *3. 4 FIGURE:* DECISION-MAKING LEVELS IN SUPPLY CHAINS . 1. 2 DRIVERS OF SUPPLY CHAIN Drivers determine supply chain performance and are the managerial levers on which to guide the operational process. For each driver manager must make tradeoffs beetween efficiency (cost) and responsiveness. {draw:frame} FIGURE 3. 5: DRIVERS OF SUPPLY CHAIN Facilities Are the actual physical locations in the supply chain network where product are stored, assembled or fabricated. The two major types of facilities are: Production sites( factories) Storage sites (warehouse). Components of facilities decisions are: Location: centralize to gain economies of scale (major efficiency) or decentralize to be more responsive. Other issues include quality and costo f workers, costo f facility, infrastructure, taxes, quality of life,etc. Capacity: excess capacity allows a company to be more responsive to changes in the level of demand (major flexibility), but at the expensive of efficiency. Manufacturing methodology: decisions between a product or functional focus, between flexible or dedicated capacity. Warehousing methodology: choose between: SKU storage: stores all of one type of product together, Job lot storage: stores different products together to satisfy a particular customer or job, cross-docking: product is not actually warehoused in the facility, instead the facility is used to house a process where trucks from suppliers arrive and unload large quantities of different products. These large lots are then broken down into smaller lots. Smaller lots of different products are recombined according to the needs of the day and quickly loaded onto outbound trucks that deliver the product to their final destination. Inventory Inventory encompasses all the raw materials, work in process, and finished goods within a supply chain. Changing inventory policies can dramatically alter the supply chain’s efficiency & responsiveness. There are three basic decisions to make regarding the creation and holding of inventory: C_ycle Inventory_: this is the amount of inventory needed to satisfy demanf for the product in the period between purchases of the product. Safety Inventory: inventory that is held as a buffer against uncertainly. If demand forecasting could be done with perfect accuracy, then the only inventory that would be needed would be cycle inventory. Seasonal Inventory: this is inventory that is built up in anticipation of predictable increases in demand that occur at certain times of the year. Inventory has different impacts: Can increase amount of demand that can be met by increasing product availability Can reduce costs by exploiting economies of scale in production, transportation, and purchasing. Can be used to support a firm’s competitive strategy. More inventory increases responsiveness, less inventory increases efficiency (reduces cost). Can significantly affect material flow/cycle/throughput time because if you move your inventory faster, you don’t need as much inventory (inventory velocity). Transportation Transportations entails moving inventory from point to point in the supply chain. Components of transportation decisions are: Mode of transportation: is the manner in which a product is moved (air, truck,rail, ship, pipeline,eletronic). Each mode differs with respect to speed, size of shipments, cost, and flexibility. Routes and networks selection: are respectively paths along which a product can be shipped and a collection of locations and routes. In house or out source the transportation function. Many companies use third-party logistics provider (3PL) to perform some or all of their transportation activities. Usually companies outsource the distribution. Faster transportation allows a supply chain to be more responsive but generally less efficient. Less than full truckloads allows a supply chain to be more responsive but generally less efficient. Transportation can be used to support a firm’s competitive strategy. Customers may demand and be willing to pay for a high level of responsiveness. Information Information serves as the connection between various stages of a supply chain, allowing them to coordinate & maximize total supply chain profitability. It is also crucial to the daily operations of each stage in a supply chain for a production scheduling system. Components of information decisions are: Push versus pull: push systems (like MRP) need information on anticipated demand to create production and purchasing schedules. Pull systems (like JIT) need accurate qnd quick information on actual demand to move inventory and schedule production in the chain. Enabling technologies: many technologies exist to share and analyze information in the supply chain: EDI: electronic data interchange. ERP: enterprise re source planning. SCM software: Supply Chain Management Software Internet Forecasting & planning to anticipate and meet future demands. Available information is used to make tactical forecasts to guide the setting of monthly and quarterly production schedules & time table Coordination and information sharing Information allows supply chain to become more efficient and more responsive at the same time (reduces the need for a trade-off) {draw:frame} {draw:frame} TABELLA 3. 6 CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN DRIVERS 3. 1. 3 SCOR The Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR Model) is one of the very few dedicated methods for supply chain modelling and has also a high relevance for many industries. The model has been developed by The Supply-Chain Council (SCC), an independent not-for-profit firm with more than 1,000 corporate members. It was first introduced in 1996 and is now available in version 8. 0. In contrast to generic process modelling methods, SCOR is actually a reference model, because it defines activities that can be found in any supply chain. In that sense, it can be regarded as a successor to the value chain model by Porter. The SCOR model covers the followings levels of abstraction: Top level ( level 1) Configuration level (level 2) Process element level (level 3) Implementation level {draw:frame} *FIGURE 3. 7*:* *SCORE PROCESS FRAMEWORK Top level SCOR defines five core management processes called process types that are relevant for all firms in a supply chain (scope of the model). Three of these process types form a sequence of source, make, and deliver. The process types are: Source (S) Processes that procure goods and services to meet planned or actual demand. Make (M) Processes that transform a product or service to a finished state to meet planned or actual demand. Deliver (D) Processes that provide finished goods and services to meet planned or actualdemand, typically including order management, transportation management,and distribution management. Return (R) Processes associated with returning or receiving returned products for any reason. These processes extend into post-delivery customer support. The top level, however, can not be instantiated, thus this level defines only the scope of the SCOR model. The modelling of actual or planned supply chains starts on the next level. Configuration level beyond the five main processes, there is a further classification of processes into three categories: Planning: processes that plan resources to meet demand in appropriate time intervals. re repeated periodically and have a great influence on the response time of the supply chain. Execution: processes as executive involved in the activities of scheduling, sequencing, processing, testing, and handling of products, affecting the cycle time of the order fulfillment. Enable: processes involving information and managerial aspects that affect the other two processes From five main processes the SCOR model identifies 26 processes of second l evel, each belonging to one of three process type defined above. For instance, categories for ‘source’ are: S1 ‘source stocked product’: The procurement, delivery, receipt and transfer of raw material items, subassemblies, product and/or services. S2 ‘source make-to-order product’: The procurement and delivery of a product that is built to a specific design or configured based on the requirements of a particular customer order. S3 ‘source engineer-to-order product’: The negotiation, procurement and delivery of engineer-to-order assemblies or specialized product or services that are designed and built based on the requirements or specifications of a particolar customer order or contract. By selecting the relevant process categories, a firm can represent its operational strategy. For instance, the relevant source categories need to be selected and mapped to respective products and/or services (thus a firm can implement multiple source categories reflecting diverse sourcing strategies). Process element level The process element level decomposes the process categories by adding process element definitions, process element information inputs/outputs, process performance metrics, and best practices. SCOR does not define functions and organizational entities for these elements, thus it strictly focuses processes. Implementation level Implementation level aims to implement management practices, defining the elements necessary to gain a competitive advantage and adapt to changes. METRICS SCOR defines metrics that measure effectiveness and efficiency of a supply chain. For this purpose, metrics form a hierarchy along the SCOR levels: Level 1 metrics relate to the overall planning of a supply chain (thus these metrics are differentiated to source, make etc. ). Level 2 and 3 metrics decompose the level 1 and 2 metrics respectively. Each level 1 metric contribute to realising a performance attribute. A performance attributes is a characteristics of the supply chain that permits it to be analysed and evaluated against other supply chains with competing strategies. For instance, a supply chain is reliable to a certain degree or not. The level 1 metrics and associated performance attributes are defined as follows: FIGURE 3. 8: THE LEVEL 1 METRICS 1. Production Strategic decisions regarding production focus on what customers want and the market demands. This first stage in developing supply chain agility takes into consideration what and how many products to produce, and what, if any, parts or components should be produced at which plants or outsourced to capable suppliers. These strategic decisions regarding production must also focus on capacity, quality and volume of goods, keeping in mind that customer demand and satisfaction must be met. Operational decisions, on the other hand, focus on scheduling workloads, maintenance of equipment and meeting immediate client/market demands. Quality control and workload balancing are issues which need to be considered when making these decisions. . Supply Next, an organization must determine what their facility or facilities are able to produce, both economically and efficiently, while keeping the quality high. But most companies cannot provide excellent performance with the manufacture of all components. Outsourcing is an excellent alternative to be considered for those products and compone nts that cannot be produced effectively by an organization’s facilities. Companies must carefully select suppliers for raw materials. When choosing a supplier, focus should be on developing velocity, quality and flexibility while at the same time reducing costs or maintaining low cost levels. In short, strategic decisions should be made to determine the core capabilities of a facility and outsourcing partnerships should grow from these decisions. {text:list-item} 3. 2. 1PUSH VS PULL {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} 3. 3. 2. 1 CRP {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} 3. 6 KEY INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS Fast-fashion specialty retailers with exceptional speed-to-market have outperformed department stores and less nimble specialty stores not only in their profit argins, but also in their pace of revenue growth, according to a study by The Sage Group LLC’s Apparel and Retail Group. The mayor comparable players that compete in fast fashion at international level are: Inditex -Zara Benetton H&M Gap Each of them has a vertical scope. Zara owned much of its production and most of its stores, the Gap and H&M, which were the two largest specialist apparel retailers in the world, ahead of inditex, owned most of their stores but o utsourced all production. Benetton, in contrast, has invested relatively heavily in production, but licensees ran its stores. The four competitors were also positioned differently in product space from Inditex’s chains. Inditex’s flagship brand, Zara, is relatively perceived as more fashionable than all the other three ann prices less than Benetton and Gap but higher than H&M. In these fuor competitors, Benetton and Gap place a relatively less fashionable and higher price, while Zara and H&M is more fashionable and price lower. {draw:custom-shape} {draw:custom-shape} {draw:custom-shape} {draw:custom-shape} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Meanwhile, the major Italian player ‘Benetton’ marched on high street with, offering colorful designer clothing for the whole family. Their strategy resulted affirmative with noticeably contemporary window showcase in all stores with independent units. The company was successful in Britain, however, having a long standing in the market, they witnessed failure to keep up pace with the accelerated high fashion pressure by the other European competitors, which are now the known as Mango, H&M and Zara. The rise of these competitors on high street has been witness successful because of a higher demand for fast fashion. Styles showed in magazines and other advertorials are what people wish to wear. Top designers have created collection extensions, which cater people who can afford to spend their hard earned cash on triple figure. This resulted success to the affordable collection of European fashion brands A Swedish player, H&M offered readymade clothing stores – stocked with fashionable collection at reasonable costs. Its successful strategy was its own slogan ‘fashion & quality at the best price’ innovative design, reasonably priced and competent logistics. Based in Stockholm, a team of 100 fashion designers assures that nothing has been imitated from the runway platforms. They are mostly inspired from street-trends, movies, magazines and exhibitions. Impressively, the designs reach retail shelves within 2-3 weeks. H&M’s high profile designer tie-ups with Karl Lagerfield and Stella McCartney have resulted entire collections available to the mass people at lower prices. This strategy is supported by huge advertising campaigns, which easily compete with the major brand. In a world of advertisements and promotions, there is one store that has made strategy to not to spend penny on advertising, â€Å"Zara†, a wing of Europe's biggest, rapidly evolving and most triumphant fashion clothing retailers, Grupo Inditex. Other well popular stores in similar chain are Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull and Bear. Inditex operates business via more than two thousand stores in 56 countries. The first Zara shop was launched in 1975 at La Coruna, Galicia and at present it operates more than four hundred owned stores globally. In the previous five years they have witnessed sales up by 25 percent year on year. Zara runs its own design and production unit in La Coruna, Spain, which leads cancellation of the large out-sourcing operations, like H does in over nine hundred firms. It is modern, offering up-to-date lifestyle yet standard clothing lines for men, women and children. Zara offers reasonably priced, radical clothing, however, not of the top quality, which will last only for some seasons. As same as Zara, H can also put designs on retail shelves within three weeks. Its product assortment is cheap and small yet frequent, offering consumers huge selection that results repeated visits to their stores to find â€Å"What’s New†. Hitherto, Zara has launched over ten thousand new designs and most of these will just be attainable for few weeks. Another Spanish player, Mango is a reputed multinational brand devoted to designing, producing and selling fast fashion and accessories only for women. Its clothing line includes Suit, Casual Sport, and Mng Jeans. It might not be as huge as H or Grupo Inditex, but has played excellent particularly in the UK. No shopping malls resemble absolute with exclusive of these three brands. The pace of these companies in responding to changing consumer demands is an ideal proof to the retailing, producing and logistics skills needed in latest fashion industry. These new strategies are set up to develop aptitude to take advantage of the challenges of a competitive world market. Besides the diversification in product assortments there is one thing common in all these brands that is â€Å"intelligent logistics†. Well-organized communication between sales staff directly to the headquarters and producers lead them to match steps with high speed turnover. The fact is that buyers are becoming preference savvy and smarter in order to what they shop. Even though they always have their preferred designer, they are also acquainted that a throwaway piece of fast fashion from a retail chain store will complete their outfit choices. At so reasonably priced all of these retail perceptions play on Friday nights when people feels they have nothing to wear. Retailers are sent in a scuffle to make-out the major catwalk trends from the drawing sheets to the sales shelves as fast as possible.

Becker Last Name Origin and Meaning

Becker Last Name Origin and Meaning The surname Becker, which ranks 8th among  most common German last names,  has several possible origins: From the German becker, meaning baker, or one who bakes bread.One who created wooden vessels such as cups, mugs, and pitchers, derived from Middle High German becher, meaning cup or goblet, from Greek bikos, meaning pot or pitcher.A derivative of the Old English becca meaning mattock - used to denote a maker or user of mattocks, digging tools with a flat blade set at right angles to the handle. Surname Distribution Today, the Becker surname is by far most commonly found in Germany, followed by Luxembourg, and then the United States and Canada according to the World Names Public Profiler. Within Germany, the Becker surname is most prevalent in the Saarland region, followed by Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Because most last names originate in multiple areas, the best way to learn more about your Becker last name is to research your own specific family history. If you are new to genealogy, try these steps to begin tracing your family tree. Surname Origin: German, English Alternate Surname Spellings:  BAECKER, BEKKER, BECKERDITE, BUCHER Famous People With the BECKER Last Name Howard S. Becker: American sociologistPaula Modersohn-Becker: German expressionist painterAaron Becker: American childrens book authorBoris Becker: Former German tennis star Genealogy Resources for the BECKER Last Name The Bucher, Beecher, Becker, etc. DNA ProjectThis Y-DNA testing project is open to all families with the Becker last name and variations (B260 soundex surnames), from all locations. The purpose of the project is to help members use a combination of  yDNA  testing, paper trails, and additional research to identify common Becker ancestors. BECKER Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Becker last name to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Becker query. FamilySearch - BECKER GenealogySearch and access records, queries, and lineage-linked online family trees posted for the Becker surname and its variations. FamilySearch features over 2.5 million results for the Becker last name. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Corporate Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Corporate Governance - Essay Example It also ensures that the other interest groups including minority shareholders, financial markets, debt holders, employees, suppliers, customers as well as societies are not harmed in any form. Some of the fundamental characteristics that define good governance are consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, participatory, following the rules of law, efficient and effective, inclusive and equitable (Foster and Jonker, 2005). While governance is an old concept, its usage, application and underlying meaning have seen the dramatic transformation over the years. Present governance system of corporations is highly complex and consists of various levels of audits, monitoring and scrutiny (Mwenja and Lewis, 2009). Although organizations have braced the concept in their goals and value system, it is still a largely avoided category for growth and development of an organization. The objective of the current report is to understand and evaluate the various internal and external factors that impact the development of effective corporate governance. It is essential to understand the fundamental concept, theories associated and largely accepted and the governance system followed among different organizations in various parts of the world. An organizational case study with respect to the governance strategies and policies will help in evaluating the current trends and practices. Also, the above analytical outcomes hav e been applied to recommend some key areas which can be developed for better governance systems. Several governance theories have been recognized by experts that have been largely followed for organizations and firms across the globe. However, the current report will describe three main theories that have been largely accepted and studied among economists and academics. These are The first theory that is successful society theory is centered on developing and shaping the governance. Here the focus is given to features as well as characteristics that describe a successful society.

Barriers to Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Barriers to Care - Assignment Example Suicide refers to intentional termination of one’s life due to various reasons. There are serious concerns that the United States’ military records the highest number of suicide cases despite the many efforts made to alleviate this situation (Gibbs and Martins 2012). Currently, suicide accounts for a significant number of noncombatant deaths and continues to rise due to various reasons. First, there is too much pressure in the military service and this subjects workers to stress and depression. This condition is worsened by high expectations by top commanders that push junior personnel to work under extreme pressure. In addition, these officers have less time to engage in other relaxation activities leading to accumulation of mental stress. Secondly, these officers are exposed to frightening sights that make them forget that they are human beings (BC News 2003). The sight of killing fellow beings and trampling over dead bodies are some of the horrible scenes these offic ers have to deal with in their daily activities. Therefore, they experience many nightmares and dreadful dreams that interfere with their mental and psychological processes. Moreover, the counseling and guidance services offered to counter these challenges are available under the mental health department. Most people usually think that this department treats mad people. Therefore, they are never interested in things associated with madness (Gibbs and Martins 2012). In addition, the services and treatment offered for mental illness takes a very long time and before it is fully administered patients get exposed to other horrifying situations. Occasionally, patients fail to turn up for treatment and thus expose their health to more serious dangers. Lastly, military personnel are human beings just like teachers, businessmen and farmers (BC News 2003). They too need company and companionship from their family members and friends. However, they are usually