Obama and Lincoln - Similarities and Differences

Essay about Racial Discrimination and Hispanics in the...

Racial discrimination has a long history in the United States of America. It dates back to the days of slavery. Mexican descendants are migrating to the United States at an alarming rate. The culture that the Mexicans experience in their own country is very different from the culture they experience upon arriving in the United States of America. The U. S. Census Bureau created the label â€Å"Hispanic† for convenience. Some people of Spanish descent think of themselves as â€Å"Hispanic† and others prefer the term â€Å"Latino†; however, most identify with a particular country, such as Cuba, Argentina, or Spain (Macionis 2006) Hispanics accounted for 14.8 percent of the population in the United States of America in 2006 (www.prb.org). The percentage†¦show more content†¦Advocates note that English is a critical skill that will not only help students graduate from high school but also will help them assimilate into the culture and become successful citiz ens. The one-way program is one of many ways that the district teaches English to speakers of other languages. Overall, about 18 percent of Orange Countys 175,000 students take classes to learn English. Spanish is the predominant foreign language spoken in the countys public schools. A federal court order requires Floridas districts to treat non-English-speaking children equitably, and it regulates how that should happen. The council argues that the cuts violate that order in part because officials did not include parents in the discussion (Hobbs 2010). The existence of a large Latin American community living and working in the United States has been the main cause for the Spanish language to have gradually found its way into the North-American society. Those belonging to this community use both Spanish and English on a daily basis, although not usually to the same degree: Spanish is normally spoken in colloquial situations, whereas English is the language used in work or academic contexts. The code-switching between the two languages emerges as a tool of identification with both cultures. Over the past few years, the cultural reality of all those people who are able to alternate English and Spanish in theShow MoreRelatedRacial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States1512 Words   |  7 PagesRacial discrimination among Hispanics in the United States is on the rise along with stricter immigration laws, inadequate education for ESL classes, as well as they are prey to healthcare disparities. Data shows that many states in t he United States are implementing tougher immigration laws for their individual states. Also, due to education cuts and kick-backs, English as a second language classes are becoming fewer in many school districts. Finally, health care disparities among Hispanics areRead MoreRacial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States2775 Words   |  12 PagesRacial discrimination â€Å"is a term used to describe unfair behavior afflicted on individuals based on their race† (LegalCyberTips, 2007, Para 1). The concept of racism has existed for decades. The act of one race attempting to exert supremacy over others has often resulted in racial discrimination (LegalCyberTips, 2007). Racial discrimination is a constant reality in the lives of Hispanic Americans in the United States. 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As Angel Rodriguez was performing a free throw, someRead MoreRacial Discrimination : The Melting Pot Essay1181 Words   |  5 PagesWhen one is asked to define the United States of America, many say it is the â€Å"melting pot† meaning different races, cultures and people come together as one. However, America being called the â€Å"melting pot† is a controversial issue because, even though there are many different races in America, racism still exists. Many years after the world war I and II, the country is still struggling with racial prejudice and discrimination. While there are laws that are put into place to protect employees or jobRead MoreMulticultural Vs. Pluralistic Theory Essay1749 Words   |  7 Pagesincorporates their values, beliefs and traditions and integrates them on to a bigger cultural scale such as subcultures like Hispanics and African Americans. 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Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets Free Essays

Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets by JAMES C. ANDERSON, JAMES A. NARUS, AND WOUTER VAN ROSSUM Under pressure to keep costs down, customers may only look at price and not listen to your sales pitch. We will write a custom essay sample on Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets or any similar topic only for you Order Now Help them understand – and believe in – the superior value of your offerings. â€Å"CUSTOMER VALUE PROPOSITION† has become one of the most widely used terms in business markets in recent years. Yet our management-practice research reveals that there is no agreement as to what constitutes a customer value proposition – or what makes one persuasive. Moreover, we ? d that most value propositions make claims of savings and bene? ts to the customer without backing them up. An offering may actually provide superior value – but if the supplier doesn’t demonstrate and document that claim, a customer manager will likely dismiss it as marketing puffery. Customer managers, increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, don’t have the luxury of simply believing suppliers’ assertions. PETER HOEY march 2006 91 C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s Take the case of a company that makes integrated circuits (ICs). It hoped to supply 5 million units to an electronic device manufacturer for its next-generation product. In the course of negotiations, the supplier’s salesperson learned that he was competing against a company whose price was 10 cents lower per unit. The customer asked each salesperson why his company’s offering was superior. This salesperson based his value proposition on the service that he, personally, would provide. Unbeknownst to the salesperson, the customer had built a customer value model, which found that the company’s offering, though 10 cents higher in price per IC, was actually worth 15. cents more. The electronics engineer who was leading the development project had recommended that the purchasing manager buy those ICs, even at the higher price. The service was, indeed, worth something in the model–but just 0. 2 cents! Unfortunately, the salesperson had overlooked the two elements of his company’s IC offering that were most valuable to the customer, evidently unaware how much they were worth to that customer and, objectively, how superior they made his company’s offering to that of the competitor. Not surprisingly, We conducted management-practice research over the past two years in Europe and the United States to understand what constitutes a customer value proposition and what makes one persuasive to customers. One striking discovery is that it is exceptionally dif? cult to ? nd examples of value propositions that resonate with customers. Here, drawing on the best practices of a handful of suppliers in business markets, we present a systematic approach for developing value propositions that are meaningful to target customers and that focus suppliers’ efforts on creating superior value. Three Kinds of Value Propositions We have classi? ed the ways that suppliers use the term â€Å"value proposition†into three types: all bene? ts, favorable points of difference, and resonating focus. (See the exhibit â€Å"Which Alternative Conveys Value to Customers? †) All bene? ts. Our research indicates that most managers, when asked to construct a customer value proposition, simply list all the bene? ts they believe that their Customer managers, increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, don’t have the luxury of simply believing suppliers’ assertions. hen push came to shove, perhaps suspecting that his service was not worth the difference in price, the salesperson offered a 10-cent price concession to win the business – consequently leaving at least a half million dollars on the table. Some managers view the customer value proposition as a form of spin their marketing departments develop for advertising and promotional copy. This shortsi ghted view neglects the very real contribution of value propositions to superior business performance. Properly constructed, they force companies to rigorously focus on what their offerings are really worth to their customers. Once companies become disciplined about understanding customers, they can make smarter choices about where to allocate scarce company resources in developing new offerings. offering might deliver to target customers. The more they can think of, the better. This approach requires the least knowledge about customers and competitors and, thus, the least amount of work to construct. However, its relative simplicity has a major potential drawback: bene? t assertion. Managers may claim advantages for features that actually provide no bene? to target customers. Such was the case with a company that sold highperformance gas chromatographs to RD laboratories in large companies, universities, and government agencies in the Benelux countries. One feature of a particular chromatograph allowed RD lab customers to maintain a high degree of sample integrity. Seeking growth, the company began to market the most basic model of this chromatograph to a new segment: commercial laboratories. In initial m eetings with prospective customers, the ? rm’s James C. Anderson is the William L. Ford Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Wholesale Distribution at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois; the Irwin Gross Distinguished ISBM Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets in University Park, Pennsylvania; and a visiting research professor at the School of Business, Public Administration, and Technology at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. James A. Narus is a professor of business marketing at the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wouter van Rossum is a professor of commercial and strategic management at the School of Business, Public Administration, and Technology at the University of Twente. 92 harvard business review C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s Which Alternative Conveys Value to Customers? Suppliers use the term â€Å"value proposition† three different ways. Most managers simply list all the bene? ts they believe that their offering might deliver to target customers. The more they can think of, the better. Some managers do recognize that the customer has an alternative, but they often make the mistake of assuming that favorable points of difference must be valuable for the customer. Best-practice suppliers base their value proposition on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrate the value of this superior performance, and communicate it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer’s business priorities. VALUE PROPOSITION: ALL BENEFITS FAVORABLE POINTS OF DIFFERENCE All favorable points of difference a market offering has relative to the next best alternative RESONATING FOCUS Consists of: All bene? ts customers receive from a market offering The one or two points of difference (and, perhaps, a point of parity) whose improvement will deliver the greatest value to the customer for the foreseeable future Answers the customer question: â€Å"Why should our ? rm purchase your offering? † â€Å"Why should our ? rm purchase your offering instead of your competitor’s? † â€Å"What is most worthwhile for our ? rm to keep in mind about your offering? † Requires: Knowledge of own market offering Knowledge of own market offering and next best alternative Knowledge of how own market offering delivers superior value to customers, compared with next best alternative Has the potential pitfall: Bene? t assertion Value presumption Requires customer value research salespeople touted the bene? ts of maintaining sample integrity. Their prospects scoffed at this bene? t assertion, stating that they routinely tested soil and water samples, for which maintaining sample integrity was not a concern. The supplier was taken aback and forced to rethink its value proposition. Another pitfall of the all bene? ts value proposition is that many, even most, of the bene? s may be points of parity with those of the next best alternative, diluting the effect of the few genuine points of difference. Managers need to clearly identify in their customer value propositions which elements are points of parity and which are points of difference. (See the exhibit â€Å"The Building Blocks of a Successful Customer Value Proposition. †) For example, an internat ional engineering consultancy was march 2006 bidding for a light-rail project. The last chart of the company’s presentation listed ten reasons why the municipality should award the roject to the ? rm. But the chart had little persuasive power because the other two ? nalists could make most of the same claims. Put yourself, for a moment, in the place of the prospective client. Suppose each ? rm, at the end of its presentation, gives ten reasons why you ought to award it the project, and the lists from all the ? rms are almost the same. If each ? rm is saying essentially the same thing, how do you make a choice? You ask each of the ? rms to give a ? nal, best price, and then you award the project to the ? rm that gives the largest price concession. Any distinctions that do exist have been overshadowed by the ? rms’ greater sameness. 93 C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s Favorable points of difference. The second type of value proposition explicitly recognizes that the customer has an alternative. The recent experience of a leading industrial gas supplier illustrates this perspective. A customer sent the company a request for proposal stating that the two or three suppliers that could demonstrate the most persuasive value propositions would be invited to visit the customer to discuss and re? e their proposals. After this meeting, the customer would select a sole supplier for this business. As this example shows, â€Å"Why should our ? rm purchase your offering instead of your competitor’s? † is a more pertinent question than â€Å"Why should our ? rm purchase your offering? † The ? rst question focuses suppliers on differentiating their offerings from the next best alternative, a process that requires detailed knowledge of that alternative, whether it be buying a competitor’s offering or solving the customer’s problem in a different way. Knowing that an element of an offering is a point of difference relative to the next best alternative does not, however, convey the value of this difference to target customers. Furthermore, a product or service may have several points of difference, complicating the supplier’s understanding of which ones deliver the greatest value. Without a detailed understanding of the customer’s requirements and preferences, and what it is worth to ful? ll them, suppliers may stress points of difference that deliver relatively little value to the target customer. Each of these can lead to the pitfall of value presumption: assuming that favorable points f difference must be valuable for the customer. Our opening anecdote about the IC supplier that unnecessarily discounted its price exempli? es this pitfall. Resonating focus. Although the favorable points of difference value proposition is preferable to an all bene? ts proposition for companies crafting a consumer value proposition, t he resonating focus value proposition should be the gold standard. This approach acknowledges that the managers who make purchase decisions have major, ever-increasing levels of responsibility and often are pressed for time. They want to do business with suppliers that fully grasp critical issues in their business and deliver a customer value proposition that’s simple yet powerfully captivating. Suppliers can provide such a customer value proposition by making their offerings superior on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrating and documenting the value of this superior performance, and communicating it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer’s business priorities. This type of proposition differs from favorable points of difference in two signi? cant respects. First, more is not better. Although a supplier’s offering may possess several favorable points of difference, the resonating focus proposition steadfastly concentrates on the one or two points 94 of difference that deliver, and whose improvement will continue to deliver, the greatest value to target customers. To better leverage limited resources, a supplier might even cede to the next best alternative the favorable points of difference that customers value least, so that the supplier can concentrate its resources on improving the one or two points of difference customers value most. Second, the resonating focus proposition may contain a point of parity. This occurs either when the point of parity is required for target customers even to consider the supplier’s offering or when a supplier wants to counter customers’ mistaken perceptions that a particular value element is a point of difference in favor of a competitor’s offering. This latter case arises when customers believe that the competitor’s offering is superior but the supplier believes its offerings are comparable–customer value research provides empirical support for the supplier’s assertion. To give practical meaning to resonating focus, consider the following example. Sonoco, a global packaging supplier headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, approached a large European customer, a maker of consumer packaged goods, about redesigning the packaging The Building Blocks of a Successful Customer Value Proposition A supplier’s offering may have many technical, economic, service, or social bene? ts that deliver value to customers – but in all probability, so do competitors’ offerings. Thus, the essential question is, â€Å"How do these value elements compare with those of the next best alternative? We’ve found that it’s useful to sort value elements into three types. Points of parity are elements with essentially the same performance or functionality as those of the next best alternative. Points of difference are elements that make the supplier’s offering either superior or inferior to the next best alternative. Points of content ion are elements about which the supplier and its customers disagree regarding how their performance or functionality compares with those of the next best alternative. Either the supplier regards a value element as a point of difference in its favor, while the customer regards that element as a point of parity with the next best alternative, or the supplier regards a value element as a point of parity, while the customer regards it as a point of difference in favor of the next best alternative. harvard business review C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s for one of its product lines. Sonoco believed that the customer would pro? from updated packaging, and, by proposing the initiative itself, Sonoco reinforced its reputation as an innovator. Although the redesigned packaging provided six favorable points of difference relative to the next best alternative, Sonoco chose to emphasize one point of parity and two points of difference in what it called its distinctive value proposition (DVP). The value proposition was that the redesigned packaging would deliver signi? cantly greater manufacturing ef? ciency in the customer’s ? l lines, through higher-speed closing, and provide a distinctive look that consumers would ? nd more appealing – all for the same price as the present packaging. Sonoco chose to include a point of parity in its value proposition because, in this case, the customer would not even consider a packaging redesign if the price went up. The ? rst point of difference in the value proposition (increased ef? ciency) delivered cost savings to the customer, allowing it to move from a seven-day, three-shift production schedule during peak times to a ? e-day, two-shift operation. The second point of difference delivered an advantage at the consumer level, helping the customer to grow its revenues and pro? ts incrementally. In persuading the customer to change to the redesigned packaging, Sonoco did not neglect to mention the other favorable points of difference. Rather, it chose to place much greater emphasis on the two points of difference and the one point of pari ty that mattered most to the customer, thereby delivering a value proposition with resonating focus. Stressing as a point of parity what customers may mistakenly presume to be a point of difference favoring a competitor’s offering can be one of the most important parts of constructing an effective value proposition. Take the case of Intergraph, an Alabama-based provider of engineering software to engineering, procurement, and construction ? rms. One software product that Intergraph offers, SmartPlant PID, enables customers to de? ne ? ow processes for valves, pumps, and piping within plants they are designing and generate piping and instrumentation diagrams (PID). Some prospective customers wrongly presume that SmartPlant’s drafting performance would not be as good as that of the next best alternative, because the alternative is built on computer-aided design (CAD), a better-known drafting tool than the relational database platform on which SmartPlant is built. So Intergraph tackled the perception head on, gathering data from reference customers to substantiate that this point of contention was actually a point of parity. march 2006 Here’s how the company played it. Intergraph’s resonating focus value proposition for this software consisted of one point of parity (which the customer initially thought was a point of contention), followed by three points of difference: Point of parity: Using this software, customers can create PID graphics (either drawings or reports) as fast, if not faster, as they can using CAD, the next best alternative. Point of difference: This software checks all of the customer’s upstream and downstream data related to plant assets and procedures, using universally accepted engineering practices, company-speci? c rules, and project- or process-speci? rules at each stage of the design process, so that the customer avoids costly mistakes such as missing design change interdependencies or, worse, ordering the wrong equipment. Point of difference: This software is integrated with upstream and downstream tasks, such as process simulation and instrumentation design, thus requiring no reentry of data (and reducing th e margin for error). Point of difference: With this software, the customer is able to link remote of? ces to execute the project and then merge the pieces into a single deliverable database to hand to its customer, the facility owner. Resonating focus value propositions are very effective, but they’re not easy to craft: Suppliers must undertake 95 C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s customer value research to gain the insights to construct them. Despite all of the talk about customer value, few suppliers have actually done customer value research, which requires time, effort, persistence, and some creativity. But as the best practices we studied highlight, thinking through a resonating focus value proposition disciplines a company to research its customers’ businesses enough to help solve their problems. As the experience of a leading resins supplier amply illustrates, doing customer value research pays off. (See the sidebar â€Å"Case in Point: Transforming a Weak Value Proposition. †) savings from reduced power usage that a customer would gain by using a Rockwell Automation motor solution instead of a competitor’s comparable offering: Power Reduction = [kW spent number of operating hours per Cost Savings year $ per kW hour number of years system solution in operation] Competitor Solution ? [kW spent number of operating hours per year $ per kW hour number of years system solution in operation] Rockwell Automation Solution Substantiate Customer Value Propositions In a series of business roundtable discussions we conducted in Europe and the United States, customer managers reported that â€Å"We can save you money! † has become almost a generic value proposition from prospective suppliers. But, as one participant in Rotterdam wryly observed, most of the suppliers were telling â€Å"fairy tales. † After he heard a pitch from a prospective supplier, he would follow up with a series of questions to determine whether the supplier had the people, processes, tools, and experience to actually save his ? m money. As often as not, they could not really back up the claims. Simply put, to make customer value propositions persuasive, suppliers must be able to demonstrate and document them. Value word equations enable a supplier to show points of difference and points of contention relative to the next best alternative, so that customer managers can easily grasp them and ? nd them persuasive. A value w ord This value word equation uses industry-speci? c terminology that suppliers and customers in business markets rely on to communicate precisely and ef? iently about functionality and performance. Demonstrate Customer Value in Advance Prospective customers must see convincingly the cost savings or added value they can expect from using the supplier’s offering instead of the next best alternative. Best-practice suppliers, such as Rockwell Automation and precision-engineering and manufacturing ? rm Nijdra Groep in the Netherlands, use value case histories to demonstrate this. Value case histories document the cost savings or added value that reference customers have actually received from their use of the supplier’s market offering. Another way that best-practice ? rms, such as Pennsylvania-based GE Infrastructure Water Process Technologies (GEIWPT) and SKF USA, show the value of their offerings to prospective customers in advance is Some best-practice suppliers are even willing to guarantee a certain amount of savings before a customer signs on. equation expresses in words and simple mathematical operators (for example, + and ? ) how to assess the differences in functionality or performance between a supplier’s offering and the next best alternative and how to convert those differences into dollars. Best-practice ? rms like Intergraph and, in Milwaukee, Rockwell Automation use value word equations to make it clear to customers how their offerings will lower costs or add value relative to the next best alternatives. The data needed to provide the value estimates are most often collected from the customer’s business operations by supplier and customer managers working together, but, at times, data may come from outside sources, such as industry association studies. Consider a value word equation that Rockwell Automation used to calculate the cost 96 through value calculators. These customer value assessment tools typically are spreadsheet software applications that salespeople or value specialists use on laptops as part of a consultative selling approach to demonstrate the value that customers likely would receive from the suppliers’ offerings. When necessary, best-practice suppliers go to extraordinary lengths to demonstrate the value of their offerings relative to the next best alternatives. The polymer chemicals unit of Akzo Nobel in Chicago recently conducted an on-site two-week pilot on a production reactor at a prospective customer’s facility to gather data ? rsthand on the performance of its high-purity metal organics offering relative to the next best alternative in producing compound semiconductor wafers. Akzo Nobel paid this harvard business review C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s prospective customer for these two weeks, in which each day was a trial because of daily considerations such as output and maintenance. Akzo Nobel now has data from an actual production machine to substantiate assertions about its product and anticipated cost savings, and evidence that the compound semiconductor wafers produced are as good as or better than those the customer currently grows using the next best alternative. To let its prospective clients’ customers verify this for themselves, Akzo Nobel brought them sample wafers it had produced for testing. Akzo Nobel combines this point of parity with two points of difference: signi? cantly lower energy costs for conversion and signi? antly lower maintenance costs. Document Customer Value Demonstrating superior value is necessary, but this is no longer enough for a ? rm to be considered a best-practice company. Suppliers also must document the cost savings and incremental pro? ts (from additional revenue gener- ated) their offerings deliver to the companies that have purchased them. Thus, suppliers work with their customers to de? ne how cost savings or incr emental pro? ts will be tracked and then, after a suitable period of time, work with customer managers to document the results. They use value documenters to further re? ne their customer value models, create value case histories, enable customer managers to get credit for the cost savings and incremental pro? ts produced, and (because customer managers know that the supplier is willing to return later to document the value received) enhance the credibility of the offering’s value. A pioneer in substantiating value propositions over the past decade, GEIWPT documents the results provided to customers through its value generation planning (VGP) process and tools, which enable its ? ld personnel to understand customers’ businesses and to plan, execute, and document projects that have the highest value impact for its customers. An online tracking tool allows GEIWPT and customer managers to easily monitor the Case in Point: Transforming a Weak Value Proposition A leading supplier of specialty resins used in architectural coatings – such as paint for buildings – recognized that its custo mers were coming under pressure to comply with increasingly strict environmental regulations. At the same time, the supplier reasoned, no coating manufacturer would want to sacri? e performance. So the resins supplier developed a new type of highperformance resins that would enable its customers to comply with stricter environmental standards – albeit at a higher price but with no reduction in performance. In its initial discussions with customers who were using the product on a trial basis, the resins supplier was surprised by the tepid reaction it received, particularly from commercial managers. They were not enthusiastic about the sales prospects for higher-priced coatings with commercial painting contractors, the primary target market. They would not, they said, move to the new resin until regulation mandated it. Taken aback, the resins supplier decided to conduct customer value research to better understand the requirements and preferences of its customers’ customers and how the performance of the new resin would affect their total cost of doing business. The resins supplier went so far as to study the requirements and preferences of the commercial painting contractors’ customers – building owners. The supplier conducted a series of focus groups and ? eld tests with painting contractors to gather data. The performance on primary customer requirements – such as coverage, dry time, and durability – was studied, and customers were asked to make performance trade-offs and indicate their willingness to pay for coatings that delivered enhanced performance. The resins supplier also joined a commercial painting contractor industry association, enrolled managers in courses on how contractors are taught to estimate jobs, and trained the staff to work with the job-estimation software used by painting contractors. Several insights emerged from this customer value research. Most notable was the realization that only 15% of a painting contractor’s costs are the coatings; labor is by far the largest cost component. If a coating could provide greater productivity – for example, a faster drying time that allowed two coats to be applied during a single eight-hour shift – contractors would likely accept a higher price. The resins supplier retooled its value proposition from a single dimension, environmental regulation compliance, to a resonating focus value proposition where environmental compliance played a signi? cant but minor part. The new value proposition was â€Å"The new resin enables coatings producers to make architectural coatings with higher ? lm build and gives the painting contractors the ability to put on two coats within a single shift, thus increasing painter productivity while also being environmentally compliant. † Coatings customers enthusiastically accepted this value proposition, and the resins supplier was able to get a 40% price premium for its new offering over the traditional resin product. march 2006 97 C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s xecution and documented results of each project the company undertakes. Since it began using VGP in 1992, GEIWPT has documented more than 1,000 case histories, accounting for $1. 3 billion in customer cost savings, 24 billion gallons of water conserved, 5. 5 million tons of waste eliminated, and 4. 8 million tons of air emissions removed. As suppliers gain experience documenting the value provided to cu stomers, they become knowledgeable about how their offerings deliver superior value to customers and even how the value delivered varies across ation can submit NPI requests whenever they have an inventive idea for a customer solution that they believe would have a large value impact but that GEIWPT presently does not offer. Industry marketing managers, who have extensive industry expertise, then perform scoping studies to understand the potential of the proposed products to deliver signi? cant value to segment customers. They create business cases for the proposed product, which are â€Å"racked and stacked† for review. The senior management team of GEIWPT sort through a Best-practice suppliers make sure their people know how to identify what the next value propositions ought to be. kinds of customers. Because of this extensive and detailed knowledge, they become con? dent in predicting the cost savings and added value that prospective customers likely will receive. Some best-practice suppliers are even willing to guarantee a certain amount of savings before a customer signs on. A global automotive engine manufacturer turned to Quaker Chemical, a Pennsylvania-based specialty chemical and management services ? m, for help in signi? cantly reducing its operating costs. Quaker’s team of chemical, mechanical, and environmental engineers, which has been meticulously documenting cost savings to customers for years, identi? ed potential savings for this customer through process and productivity improvements. Then Quaker implemented its proposed solution – with a guarantee that savings would be ? ve times more than what the engine manufacturer spent annually just to purchase coolant. In real numbers, that meant savings of $1. 4 million a year. What customer wouldn’t ? nd such a guarantee persuasive? large number of potential initiatives competing for limited resources. The team approved Panichella’s initiative, which led to the development of a new offering that provided re? nery customers with documented cost savings amounting to ? ve to ten times the price they paid for the offering, thus realizing a compelling value proposition. Sonoco, at the corporate level, has made customer value propositions fundamental to its business strategy. Since 2003, its CEO, Harris DeLoach, Jr. and the executive committee have set an ambitious growth goal for the ? rm: sustainable, double-digit, pro? table growth every year. They believe that distinctive value propositions are crucial to support the growth initiative. At Sonoco, each value proposition must be: †¢ Distinctive. It must be superior to those of Sonoco’s competition. †¢ Measurable. All value propositions should be based on tangible points of differ ence that can be quanti? ed in monetary terms. †¢ Sustainable. Sonoco must be able to execute this value proposition for a signi? ant period of time. Unit managers know how critical DVPs are to business unit performance because they are one of the ten key metrics on the managers’ performance scorecard. In senior management reviews, each unit manager presents proposed value propositions for each target market segment or key customer, or both. The managers then receive summary feedback on the value proposition metric (as well as on each of the nine other performance metrics) in terms of whether their proposals can lead to pro? table growth. In addition, Sonoco senior management tracks the relationship between business unit value propositions and business unit performance – and, year after year, has concluded that the emphasis on DVPs has made a signi? cant contribution toward sustainable, double-digit, profitable growth. harvard business review Superior Business Performance We contend that customer value propositions, properly constructed and delivered, make a signi? cant contribution to business strategy and performance. GE Infrastructure Water Process Technologies’ recent development of a new service offering to re? ery customers illustrates how general manager John Panichella allocates limited resources to initiatives that will generate the greatest incremental value for his company and its customers. For example, a few years ago, a ? eld rep had a creative idea for a new product, based on his comprehensive understanding of re? nery processes and how re? neries make money. The ? eld rep submitted a new product introduction (NPI) request to the hydrocarbon industry marketing manager for further study. Field reps or anyone else in the organi98 C u s t o m e r Va l u e P ro p o s i t i o n s i n B u s i n e s s M a r ke t s Best-practice suppliers recognize that constructing and substantiating resonating focus value propositions is not a onetime undertaking, so they make sure their people know how to identify what the next value propositions ought to be. Quaker Chemical, for example, conducts a value-proposition training program each year for its chemical program managers, who work on-site with customers and have responsibility for formulating and executing customer value propositions. These managers ? rst review case studies from a variety of industries Quaker serves, where their peers have executed savings projects and quanti? d the monetary savings produced. Competing in teams, the managers then participate in a simulation where they interview â€Å"customer managers† to gather information needed to devise a proposal for a customer value proposition. The team that is judged to have the best proposal earns â€Å"bragging rights,† which are highly valued in Quaker’s competitive cul ture. The training program, Quaker believes, helps sharpen the skills of chemical program managers to identify savings projects when they return to the customers they are serving. As the ? al part of the training program, Quaker stages an annual real-world contest where the chemical program managers have 90 days to submit a proposal for a savings project that they plan to present to their customers. The director of chemical management judges these proposals and provides feedback. If he deems a proposed project to be viable, he awards the manager with a gift certi? cate. Implementing these projects goes toward ful? lling Quaker’s guaranteed annual savings commitments of, on average, $5 million to $6 million a year per customer. Each of these businesses has made customer value propositions a fundamental part of its business strategy. Drawing on best practices, we have presented an approach to customer value propositions that businesses can implement to communicate, with resonating focus, the superior value their offerings provide to target market segments and customers. Customer value propositions can be a guiding beacon as well as the cornerstone for superior business performance. Thus, it is the responsibility of senior management and general management, not just marketing management, to ensure that their customer value propositions are just that. Reprint R0603F; HBR OnPoint 3544 To order, see page 151. P VEY . C. â€Å"What we need are some fresh new ideas. You know, like we had last year. † march 2006 99 Harvard Business Review Notice of Use Restrictions, May 2009 Harvard Business Review and Harvard Business Publishing Newsletter content on EBSCOhost is licensed for the private individual use of authorized EBSCOhost users. It is not intended for use as assigned course material in academic institutions nor as corporate learning or training materials in businesses. Academic licensees may not use this content in electronic reserves, electronic course packs, persistent linking from syllabi or by any other means of incorporating the content into course resources. Business licensees may not host this content on learning management systems or use persistent linking or other means to incorporate the content into learning management systems. Harvard Business Publishing will be pleased to grant permission to make this content available through such means. For rates and permission, contact permissions@harvardbusiness. org. How to cite Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets, Papers

Personal Productivity Software

Question: Briefly explain the difference between parallel computing, grid computing, and cloud computing. Answer: Productivity software is a category of application programs and this software solution provides help users to produce databases, graphs, documents, worksheets and presentations. Most commonly these software solutions are used for business use. There are various personal productivity software solutions are used such as word processors. Here we have three personal software solutions that are used for business purposes and these are listed as below: (Spencer, L, 2011) OpenOffice Google Apps for Business Microsoft Office These three listed solutions are so much popular among people who use documents, spreadsheets etc. at their work. Among these listed software solutions, I would select Microsoft Office, because it is very reliable, flexible and user-friendly. Microsoft Office is commonly known as MS-Office. The MS-Office suits has a variety of configurations that can be used from home use to student use. This software solution is good for every size of businesses. Every feature of this personal productivity software can be used by users easily for making documents, sheets and a professional business reports can be made easily with the help of this software. This personal productivity software consists of Word, Excel, Power Point and OneNote and Outlook. For using MS-Office, it is necessary to get its license which is not free. User of MS-Office should purchase this software solution. To use this software properly, appropriate configuration of this software is necessary. (Application Performance Manag ement, 2016) These are some reasons that enhance popularity of this software solution and it is considered to be better than other available personal productivity software packages. (WhatIs.com, 2016) References Spencer, L. (2011). 13 Office Productivity Software Suites for Freelancers and Others - Freelance Folder. Freelance Folder. Retrieved 11 July 2016, from https://freelancefolder.com/14-office-productivity-software-suites-for-freelancers-and-others/ WhatIs.com. (2016). What is productivity software? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved 11 July 2016, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/productivity-software Application Performance Management. (2016). Productivity Software | Productivity Software Examples and List. Retrieved 11 July 2016, from https://www.applicationperformancemanagement.org/software/productivity-software/

Generation Gap Research Paper Essay Example

Generation Gap Research Paper Essay Generation gap is a sociological phenomenon at which the cultural values of junior generation (â€Å"children†) strongly differ with cultural and other values of elders (â€Å"parents†). Children and parents can perceive each other as representatives of quite alien cultures, interests, concepts, and worldviews. The range of the problems of generation gap war developed in 1960s by Margaret Mid. Generation gap research paper is very urgent these days. Young writers who have chosen the topic for their first research project have to investigate very carefully all the various aspects of the given phenomenon to be able to fully cover that complex issue. About generations gap, about teenagers and youths that lost their way with their parents, and about parents, losing connection with their children, there was a great deal of debates. The phenomenon of discord between generations is not at all new. 2400 ago Socrates talked about it, and since then the topic periodically emerged on the surface of public debates. Reason for the discord is quite obvious: when you are sixteen or twenty you see the world quite differently than when you are in your forty or fifty. Every age has its ideals and problems. The gap of generations will always exist. We will write a custom essay sample on Generation Gap Research Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Generation Gap Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Generation Gap Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer To our days the generation gap did not have far-reaching consequences, as children grew in the conditions very similar to those, their parents grew in. Maturing, children discovered that they had adopted the spiritual values of their parents. The generation gap did not present by itself a serious problem because the question was not about a gap in the succession of spiritual values. Positions have changed today. An environment our children grow in have almost nothing in common with that their parents grew in. The generation of today’s parents grew, knowing nothing about so ordinary now things, as television, jet planes, a-bombs, lasers, computers, impersonal numbers of certificates of identity or motion for human rights. Young people are today, as never before, subject to influence of mass media. They are under the strongest impression from such public flows, as a â€Å"new moral,† from the subculture of drugs. These two worlds are so unlike that the young generation co nsiders it practically impossible to adopt the spiritual values of their parents. Problem is not so much in the generation gap, as in the gap in spiritual succession. This problem is especially sharp for Jewish families in which parents did not succeed to cultivate in their offspring respect and love to the Jewish spiritual values. Trying to convince children to live in accordance with the Jewish doctrines, parents discovered their attempts useless. When did they make this error? They made it when they compelled their children to spend six hours in a week at Jewish school, and were lazy even to spend an hour in synagogue. Are you looking for a top-notch custom research paper about Generation Gap? Is confidentiality as important to you as the high quality of the product? Try our writing service at EssayLib.com! We can offer you professional assistance at affordable rates. Our experienced PhD and Master’s writers are ready to take into account your smallest demands. We guarantee you 100% authenticity of your paper and assure you of dead on time delivery. Proceed with the order form:

How to Succeed in Academic Writing

How to Succeed in Academic Writing How to Succeed in Academic Writing In the olden days when hand-written assignments were the norm, students with good handwriting earned more marks. Back then, instructors made it clear that good handwriting would increase the points you scored on a given paper. Today, hand-written tasks have gradually been replaced by typed assignments. Still, there are specific attributes instructors seek when they are marking academic assignments. Normally, the heads of college departments will dedicate a day or two to orientate new students. In such forums, students will be informed of key points that guarantee success in academic writing. Similarly, a lecturer will attach clear rubrics at the end of each assignment question. In this section, the student will be reminded of the main aspects that the marker will want to see in the final essay. A student is assured of passing an assignment is he/she satisfies the marker in adherence to the stated points. One of the things that help a student to succeed in any academic writing is precision. By this, it is meant that the final paper presented to the marker must fully address the task specified in the assignment. To ensure this, the student must read and comprehend the question before starting to write. Alternatively, he/she could occasionally revisit the question to check for any possible deviation. Secondly, the paper should be broad enough to cover the subject that is provided. This is achieved when the student identifies major keys to the task. Closely related to the element of breadth is depth. Unless there are explicit instructions to â€Å"mention† or â€Å"list†, the student should always provide an in-depth analysis of a given research topic. In academic writing, depth is accomplished through an inclusion of background readings and relevant but recent resources. A mistake commonly made by students when writing an academic paper is to reiterate the thoughts or opinions of other authors. Discussing a concept is different from conducting a literature review. In the former, which is what academic writing is about, it is vital to link the contentions of other authors with your own thoughts. This is where the notion of critical thinking comes in. The student must evaluate whether the background readings offer a logical position concerning the subject. When addressing an academic paper, factors that boost critical thinking are relevance and precision of other people’s ideas. A precise, broad, deep, and critically thought-out paper guarantees high quality content, but this is not enough. The instructor will want to see clarity in the writing. Thus, you must take care to articulate all the concepts properly. Though quotations are helpful, it is detrimental to use too many of them, because this negates the impression of originality and creativity. Again, you have to organize your paper well using headings as appropriate. Avoid using technical words to alleviate ambiguity. Things such as spelling and grammar must also be checked. Last, in-text citations together with a bibliography must be presented in the right format. Our academic writing service can provide you with a superior-quality custom essay, research paper, thesis or dissertation on any topic. All you need is to contact us now!

Views of Marx and J.S.Mills on Accumulation and Crises Essay

Views of Marx and J.S.Mills on Accumulation and Crises - Essay Example Karl Marx In his theory of surplus value, Marx asserts that the working class or the proletariat exchange their labour for wages with the capitalist class or the bourgeoisie. Unlike in slave and feudal societies where goods were produced for consumption, in capitalist economy, commodities are produced for exchange in the market with the value of exchange being money. Since labour is also exchanged for wages, it is also regarded as a commodity and social relations assume mysterious form of relationship between things concealed by a veil of money. The labourers are alienated from the means of production and produce goods for the capitalists which they in turn exchange to get a profit. However, if workers are productive, they produce more than they would have produced in a normal working day but all the profit realised goes to the capitalist as labourers receive only the normal wages. This is what Marx referred as surplus value of labour (Eatwell and Milgate 2011, p. 192). According to Marx, the surplus value in feudal societies is consumed while in capitalist societies, surplus value is reinvested to produce more surplus value. He referred to reinvestment of surplus value as accumulation of capital (Callinicos 2011). However, the motive for accumulation is not greed but a result of social mechanisms which result in competition between many capitals and a capital that does not reinvest itself is pushed out of the market. As observed by Eatwell and Milgate (2011, p. 195) capitalist production involves circuit of capital from money and commodity. The money is used to produce commodity which is then sold for money used to produce more items. However, difficulties may arise when converting commodity to money because money need not be turned immediately to commodity hence sale and purchases are separated. The seller can hoard money if the investment is not yielding enough profits hence breaking the cycle and therefore, the possibility of crisis is inevitable. In the cr isis theory, Marx asserted that the origin of crisis is the systemic elements of capitalism as a mode of production and basic social order (Callinicos, 2011). These factors include: full employment profit squeeze, underconsumption, and tendency of the rate of profit to fall. In feudal societies, a crisis occurs due to underconsumption but in capitalist societies, it is based on the law of tendency of the rate of profit to fall. As xxx observes the tendency of the rate of profit to fall is due to increased labour productivity which makes demands on the constant capital such as machinery or raw materials. As a result, amount of constant capital grows relative to variable capital leading to higher composition of organic capital and consequently low profit. The value of constant capital according to Marx does not depend on original cost of labour time but labour time for reproducing it hence it diminishes as labour productivity grows leading to low profit. In his study, Marx asserts tha t permanent crises does not exist as indicated by Smith and Malthus in their analysis that overproduction leads to permanent reduction in rate of profit. He believes that a crisis is a transitory stage of capital accumulation and therefore short-run effect. In the process of capital accumu

Arnold Schonberg, Adolf Loos and the Viennese Circle Essay

Arnold Schonberg, Adolf Loos and the Viennese Circle - Essay Example On the other hand, music tells a story through a carefully crafted set of audio. The best creations in architecture and music take painfully long to craft and they tell a compelling story that captivates its audience. It is evident that several analogies can be drawn between architecture and music in terms of their creation and impact to the society (Breivik, 2011). Inevitably, music and architecture tend to borrow from each other. Music can be considered as a metaphorical representation of a structure that can be transformed into visual terms and be an architectural piece. The relationship between architecture and music can be difficult to fathom for an ordinary person. Yet, a careful analysis of the underlying principles of any music piece shows a clear correlation with architecture. Music can be analyzed in three key parts that are rhythm, melody and harmony. These three features can be incorporated into architecture and help to create striking pieces. Breivik (2011) and Alexander (1999) pointed out that musical influence in architecture redefines a design and showcases the subtle artistic features that make an architectural piece to stand out. Therefore, it is important to appreciate the importance of the relationship between architecture and music. ... He was a member of the Viennese Circle. The architectural ideas of Loos were shaped greatly by the ideas that were brought forth by the Viennese circle (Schezel et al, 2009). Loos was greatly influenced by the musical ideas of his colleague Arnold Schonberg who was also part of the Viennese circle. Both Loos and Schonberg had great influence on each other. In fact, the intellectual relationship in terms of architecture and music that transpired between Loos and Schonberg has had a great impact on the society up to the present time. Loos and Schonberg were active in their professions during the era of serialism. Serialism was a revolution in composition as it was during those times. Traditional melodic, harmonic and tonal conventions were replaced entirely. Arnold Schonberg developed the twelve note system that was a new thinking in the line serial development. In the serial theory, it was the structural series of notes that made up the overall composition. The ilk of Schonberg revoke d standardized musical devices and instead opted to come with something that was unique. The main emphasis in serial development was order and clarity (John, pp. 87). Schonberg let go of the traditional aspects of music and endeavored to reinvent music in its entirety. Serialism in music was about composers coming up with their own musical language based on their ideas and intellectual inclination. Historical reiterations were not given any consideration. In essence, Serialism in music as embodied in Arnold Schonberg’s work was of disruptive nature in comparison with the conventional music at that time. During the time of Serialism, the cultural environment in Vienna allowed

Astroturf campaigns in politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Astroturf campaigns in politics - Research Paper Example An Astroturf campaign looks like a real political campaign, but few-placed interest units orchestrate such events for given selfish reasons. In this case, gaining grassroots support is a legitimizing force that ensures a given campaign seems like a real campaign. There are several consequences of such campaigns. To begin with, Astroturf campaigns increase the likelihood of passing the wrong policies. A country operates through policies that define how government entities make decisions. In every sector, there are policies that guide the operations and management of resources. Wrong policies, therefore, may direct a country towards a crisis, especially, for sensitive sectors such as health.In addition, these campaigns may lead to the exploitation of the public. This occurs in case of election of incompetent officials. Selfish political interests may influence the organization of such campaigns. This occurs because such interests may vouch for a politician who forms policies that favor given ends (Perrucci and Wysong 66). In turn, the rest of the population bears the catastrophe of wrong policies. This is usually evident in the case of competition laws that may disfavor small and upcoming firms. Astroturf campaigns destroy the morality of politics, as voters do not attain the chance of voicing their objective opinions. Such campaigns may be so sensational and delusional such that decided voters sway towards fads. It is essential for politics to create an environment whereby each opinion reflects in the ballot.

Workplace Discrimination Policies in Canada

Workplace Discrimination Policies in Canada Discrimination in the Workplace Richard Yang Abstract Despite the establishment of various human rights laws, regulations and acts on the issues of equality in Canada, some individuals still experience some form of discrimination. This is evident especially in the area of job allocations and employment. Such people include women, especially pregnant women, persons with disabilities and even radicalized people like the aboriginals, Indians and people of colour. This paper will provide a critical analysis of this issue. A brief description of the situation will be provided. This will be followed by the reasons for the status quo and later, recommendations to improve the situation will be provided. Introduction Canadian workers are protected against discrimination by a number of laws. These include theCanada Labour Codeor the Canadian Labour and Employment Equity Act. In addition to this, each province in Canada has established their own individual human rights regulations and labour legislation law to help regulate human treatment and behaviour in the workplace. The criminal code also has clauses for protection against discrimination and against any form of sexual harassment and physical assault. However, despite all these developments, discriminationis still a great issue in the Canadian workplace (Canada, 2013). Various scholars have examined this area but the literature available is still not sufficient. This research paper will provide much needed information by examining the issue of discrimination at the work place and provide the possible reasons why this occurs. Lastly, this paper will provide recommendations for improvement of the situation. There are different forms of discrimination at the work-place. These include, race discrimination (Colour, Ethnic Origin, Creed, Place of Origin or Ancestry), wage discrimination, gender discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual discrimination (e.g. Pregnancy), age discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, disability discrimination, religious discrimination, family status, record of offences and based on political affiliation. The Canadian Human Rights Act provides protection against all the above-mentioned forms of discrimination (Canada, 2013). The definition of labour force discrimination can be delicate. It can be defined as the different treatment of two equally qualified individuals on account of one or more of the various grounds of discrimination. The different methods against which a person may be discriminated against, according to theCanadian Human Rights Act, are referred to asdiscriminatory practices. Federal employers are not allowed by law to discriminate against any of their employees. They are actually obligated to accommodate an employee’s individual circumstances that relate to protected grounds of discrimination. This is referred to as the duty to accommodate. If one works for or receives services from an organization or firm that is regulated by the federal government and has experienced discrimination under any of the grounds, one should to complain (Canada, 2013). According to Goldring Landolt (2013), discrimination occurs in a number of areas and in different ways in the workplace, such as: In recruiting and selecting staff In giving terms, conditions and mostly benefits offered as part of employment Giving training in the workplace In considering and selecting people for transfer, dismissal, promotion or even retrenchment Selecting people for disciplinary action Denying an employee goods, services, accommodation or access to some facilities Providing them with goods, services, accommodation or facilities in a way that treats them differently or adversely. Denying someone perfectly qualified employment or unfairly allocating them a ghetto status in the workplace. Putting up policies or practices that demean some people. Paying differently when employees they are doing same works of the same value. Retaliating against an employee who has filed a complaint against them to the Commission of human rights. Openly harassingsomeone at the workplace A bank putting up lending and borrowing rules that obviously make it unreasonably difficult for new immigrants to get loans. This is discrimination based on race and national or ethnic origin. A person being referred to secondary screening at an airport because of their skin color. This is a discrimination case based on the color of the skin. An employer assigns shifts to employees without consideration for religious observance. An employer’s stating physical fitness requirements that clearly are based on the capabilities of a 25 year old instead of the actual requirements of a job. This is a case of discrimination based on age. A female employee who performs well in the job gets pregnant. The employer soon looks for performance issues order to dismiss her. A work policy provides benefits to some selective married couples, but not to others. This may be a case of discrimination based on sexual orientationand/ormarital status. On the ground offamily status; a woman after giving birth cannot be able to do night shifts. The employer fails to allow her flexibility to work on dayshifts. An employer setting up policies that require all the employees to have a driver’s license. People with a disability are directly discriminated against this way. This can be a case of discrimination based on disability grounds. A person can also be denied a job due to a previous conviction which was pardoned or suspended. Reasons for Employee Discrimination Various reasons contribute to the problem of discrimination at the work-place in Canada. Firstly, there is a difficulty of inadequately trained employees. Tribe, Curlis, Etheridge, Quarry, Ash Training Point.Net (2009) argue that even in the human resources departments that could be described as the most effective, inter-employee discrimination cannot be adequately contained. They argue that the best way to adequately contain this menace is to ensure that the employees are adequately educated about the laws against discrimination and about any internal rules to guard against discrimination that a certain company has adopted. Secondly, failure on the part of the employers to guard against the paper has also contributed to this menace. According to Crosby, Stockdale Ropp (2007) many employers have been identified to treat their respective evaluation systems as a formality. Most of them have been shown to hand out satisfactory ratings to the employees that show up to work in a timely manner and during firing, records of misconduct are also not kept. These researchers recommend the need for the documentation of the failings of the borderline workers. The records are to ensure that their termination of employment is supported by the paper trail. Thirdly, according to Tribe, Curlis, Etheridge, Quarry, Ash Training Point.Net (2009), many people are very ignorant of the law. They argue that even if someone has gone for the best training and awareness, their argument brings out the notion that, even those that have gone for the best training and awareness programs require to have knowledge about the law. They describe most rules about discrimination in the work-place as self-evident although they accept that there are others that are a surprise. For instance, a program on testing that has a disproportionate effect on a class that is protected may be termed discriminatory unless it boosts the performance of a job. Addition to this, Crosby, Stockdale Ropp (2007) state that when employees are not adequately screened prior to getting hired, the resultant workforce may be made up of employees that do not have the willingness to show respect to their colleagues. This is very true of the Canadian work-force because VisionPoint Productions (2002) have shown that nearly 90% of all the employers in Canada do not conduct background checks on their employees prior to employment. They suggest that a proper check be conducted about the employee’s criminal past and with the previous employers to as a measure to guard against discrimination in the work-place. Furthermore, some individuals have been reported to receive discrimination complaints with skepticism. However, with the current laws and regulations, this kind of behavior ought to end to avoid being sued. Proper investigations should be conducted (VisionPoint Productions, 2002). People occasionally have misplaced loyalty. It is an accepted statement that people have to change. As they do, the standards of acceptable conduct also change. Exemplary employees change and turn to liabilities in their respective work-stations. Liability here is because of their inability to adapt to the ever-changing standards of the work-place. By so doing, they expose their companies to possible law suits (Crosby, Stockdale Ropp, 2007). Occasionally employees may have a lot of unsupervised leisure time. The leisure allows them to occupy themselves with things that are not constructive; one of those things may be discriminatory. According to Crosby, Stockdale Ropp (2007) most of the employees that have lots of unsupervised leisure times end up behaving in a discriminatory way. Various other things may also lead to discrimination in the work-place. These include; excessive personal expression, failure for some employees to recognize when they are involved in conflicts and the mixing of ethnicities, genders and generations in the work-place. Although, mixing up may look advantageous, in the long run, it may lead to many disadvantages including discrimination (VisionPoint Productions, 2002). Acts, Laws and Regulations against Discrimination The Employment Equity Act The Employment Equity Act is defined in Canadian law. It requires federal employers to engage in employment practices which aim to increase the representation of the four designated groups. The groups include women, people living with disabilities, the Aboriginal people andthe visible minorities.The Act also has a special emphasis on equity. It reaffirms the need to not only treat people with equity but to also ensure that there is fairness in the way people are treated according to their different capabilities (Vosko, 2006). Employers are required by law to remove barriers to employment, those which disadvantage the four designated group, members. These employment barriers are for instance; wheelchair inaccessible buildings, or even practices that specifically make those designated people uncomfortable. Furthermore, employers are also required to put in place positive policies for the recruitment, training or promotion of the members of the designated groups. Such positive policies may include recruiting from Aboriginal communities, advertising for jobs in a foreign language for the minor group or even a training program for people living with disabilities (Vosko, 2006). The idea for the employment Equity was established in the 1984 Abella Commission which was chaired by JudgeRosalie Abella. In the place of affirmative action, she came up with the term â€Å"employment equity† specifically for the Canadian context. Her report later became the base for the establishment of the Employment Equity Act in 1986. It was later amended in 1995. The Act aims at achieving equity in the workplace and ensuring that no one is denied the benefits of employment or employment opportunities for reasons that are not related to capability. This legislation emphasizes that it is specifically aimed at rectifying the forms of discrimination experienced by aboriginal peoples, women, minority groups and people with disabilities in the workplace. It advocates for equity in the workplace and integration of special measures within the work-place to have these groups treated fairly according to their capabilities (Vosko, 2006). According to Vosko (2006), theEmployment Equity Acthelped ensure that all Canadian citizens had equal access to the labor market. It also required employers to ensure the full representation of members of the four designated groups in their companies. The four designated groups are: Women The Aboriginal people Persons living with disabilities Members of visible minorities The act dictates that employers should ensure equality in the workplace by; Determining if all the designated groups are represented at every level of the organization’s workforce Identifying employment barriers if any Working with all the employees in developing a plan that promotes full representation of the designated groups According to Vosko (2006), the responsibility for giving effect to the act is laid on these departments and commissions. These include; The Human Resources and Skills Development, Canada: It advices and provides the employers with the tools required to abide by the act. They also collect employment equity reports in the private sector. TheCanadian Human Rights Commission: It conducts audits of compliance for all the federally regulated businesses, corporations and public sector organizations. TheTreasury Board Secretariat: This maintains databases on availability and representation of members of the designated groups in all federal public sector organizations. Furthermore, it tables the federal public sector annual reports on employment equity to the Canadian Parliament. ThePublic Service Commission: develops policies in the sectors of staffing and recruitment and ensures proper application of theact by all the departments and agencies. The Canadian Human Rights Act The act prohibits discrimination of persons on the basis of, race, ethnicity, gender and other grounds. It continues to be in force together with the Employment Equity Act. The main difference between the two acts is that the Canadian Human Rights Act simply prohibits discrimination, while the Employment Equity Act strongly requires that employers engage in proactive measures in order to streamline the opportunities for the employment for the four designated groups above. The Canadian Human Rights Act furthermore protects minorities, such as sexual and religious minorities, while the Employment Equity Act is limited to the four groups. In Canada, employment equity is a specific legal concept and should not be used as a synonym for non-discrimination or workplace diversity. It was established under the act, is theCanadian Human Rights Commission(CHRC) in 1977 by the government of Canada. Its purpose isto investigate and settle complaints of discrimination in employment and also in the provision of public services within federal jurisdiction. It is also empowered under the Employment Equityact to ensure employers provideequal opportunities for the four designated groups. The CHRC also helps to enforce these rights and informing the public and federal employers of these rights (Vosko, 2006). Recommendations Enforcements of the acts and laws above These laws were enacted and put in place for a purpose. They are meant to give each and every qualified individual an equal employment opportunity. The government of Canada and the bodies put in place like the Canadian Labour Organization should not only publicize the laws but should enforce them. Reporting the Violators Despite the efforts made, some employers still discriminate workers. In such cases any discriminated individual or even group should report the employer. Avenues are in place to deal with and ensure such violators face the law. Appealing To Employers Humanity Helping them see that their discriminatory actions, some of which may evade the law, as inhuman and hurting. Such campaigns may aid them treat their workers equal. Employers are also charged with the responsibility of: Creating a workplace free from discrimination and form any form of harassment Providing a policy for dealing with discriminations when they occur. Ensuring that all employees and the management staff understand and abide by the policies Respond to complaints in time. Discipline and fine those employees found discriminating others. Carrying out managerial duties in a way that doesn’t abuse authority, or intimidate any employees leave alone discriminating them. References Canada. (1978). New directions: A look at Canadas immigration act and regulations. Ottawa: Employment and Immigration Canada. Canada. (2013). Language of work in federally regulated private businesses in QueÃÅ' bec not subject to the Official Languages Act. Gatineau, QueÃÅ' bec: Govt. of Canada. Crosby, F. J., Stockdale, M. S., Ropp, S. A. (2007). Sex discrimination in the workplace: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Goldring, L., Landolt, P. (2013). Producing and negotiating non-citizenship: Precarious legal status in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Hunter, R. C. (1992). Indirect discrimination in the workplace. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press. Lawrence, K., Klos, K. A., Center for Compliance Information (Aspen Systems Corporation). (1978). Sex discrimination in the workplace. Germantown, Md: Aspen Systems Corp. Phelan, G. E., Arterton, J. B. (1992). Disability discrimination in the workplace. St. Paul: Thomson/West. Tribe, A., Curlis, J., Etheridge, S., Quarry, P., Ash, E., Training Point.Net. (2009). Discrimination in the workplace. Bendigo, Vic.: Training point.net. United States. (2008). Best practices for eradicating religious discrimination in the workplace. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. United States. (2008). Questions and answers: Religious discrimination in the workplace. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. VisionPoint Productions. (2002). Harassment discrimination in the workplace: Its not just about sex anymore. Des Moines, IA: VisionPoint Productions. Vosko, L. F. (2006). Precarious employment: Understanding labour market insecurity in Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.

Silk - The Queen of Fibers Essay -- Textiles

Silk, sometimes affectionately referred to as the â€Å"queen of fibers,† is the strongest natural fiber in the world, and it is used to make expensive cloth. There’s more to silk, though, than being great to make fine garments. Did you know that a thread of silk can be stronger than some kinds of steel? Probably not. We hope to give you more insight into the wonders of silk in our report. THE DISCOVERY OF SILK One of the only – if not the only – documentation on the discovery of silk is an ancient Chinese legend. According to this legend, silk was discovered in the garden of Emperor Huangdi around 2700 B.C.E. The mulberry trees in his garden were being destroyed, and he ordered his wife, Xilingshi, to go out there and see what was the cause of the damage done to his trees. When Xilingshi went out to examine the trees, she found white worms eating the leaves of the mulberry leaves and spinning shiny cocoons. She then accidentally dropped one of the cocoons into some hot water. And when she started playing with the cocoon in the water, long white strings disentangled themselves from the cocoon. It is said that this was how silk was discovered. Xilingshi then went to Emperor Huangdi to ask him to give her a grove of mulberry trees, in order for her to breed thousands of worms that would spin these beautiful cocoons. The king then obliged. Some accounts claim that she was the person who invented the silk reel, which is a device used to join fine silk filaments into a thread thick enough to be used for weaving. Others also credit her for being the maker of the first silk loom. How true these stories are still remain uncertain with historians. One thing they are sure about, though, is that silk was first used in China. The Ch... ...pired designs (like leaves or cherry blossom trees) or of animals (like dragons or phoenixes). Pictures of Chinese silk are on the last page of the report. Works Cited "History of Silk." Silkroad Foundation. Silkroad Foundation, 2000. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. . Hong, Lily Toy. The Empress and the Silkworm. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman, 1995. Print. "Silk." World Book S-Sn Volume 17. 2004. Print. Textile Fabric Consultants Inc., Amy Willbanks. "Silk." www.fabrics.net/ amysilk.asp. fabrics INC, 19 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. . "Who smuggled the silkworm into japan + broke the silk monopoly of the Chinese?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Inc., 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .

Allentown Materials Corporation

The analysis of the Allentown Materials Corporation case study reveals a number of issues mostly related to the untimely death of a respected leader, the subsequent change in leadership, and also the management style of the newly appointed upper-level managers. This paradigm shift in operational management strategy is one of the root causes of the conflict between departments, absence of teamwork, and low morale. Additionally, radical changes are required to bring Allentown Materials Corporation into a new era of manufacturing and ensure their continued success in the marketplace.The willingness to change is critical in a manufacturing organization where the means of maintaining a competitive advantage change frequently. (ReVelle) The former General Manager of the Allentown Materials Corporation Joe Bennett was very authoritarian in nature, preferring to make all nearly all important decisions by himself, and no decisions at all were made without Mr. Bennett’s approval. Many o f the managers reporting to Bennett were considered political and manipulative by their employees, and as a result few were willing to challenge his operational management style.When Don Rogers took over Joe Bennett’s position as general manager the aggravating factors of a major down turn in business were already present, but the effects were not necessarily being felt throughout the organization. A revolutionary change should have been implemented under Bennett when the business shifted from primarily military applications to private sector uses, however manager’s perspective may cause them to overlook important organizational changes or respond to these changes inappropriately. Both general managers are at fault for the current situation at Allentown; Mr.Bennett for overlooking when change was required and Mr. Rogers for responding to the need for change inappropriately. The military market revolved around highly reliable and consistent components for crucial milita ry equipment; and the military was willing to pay a premium to acquire such components. In contrast the consumer and private sector market also demands high-quality products, but at the lowest cost possible. (ReVelle) The secondary consequence of this shift from military to consumer markets is an increased presence in the extremely competitive Japanese market.Japanese manufacturing firms had long since developed and implemented their own manufacturing methodologies such as Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing and Total Quality Management. Allentown Materials Corporation is essentially attempting to compete in a market that has already seen revolutionary change at the hands of new methodologies and techniques. Changes do need to be made to ensure a manufacturing organization has the competitive advantage, and selecting the appropriate change methodology is equally crucial.The Six Sigma quality management program was originally developed by Motorola in 1986 and as a business strategy focu ses on improving the quality of outputs by removing the causes of defects, unacceptable variability in the manufacturing process, and discontinuing practices that do not add value to the final output. (CIT) One method in which Six Sigma accomplishes this is though improving processes already in place or creating new processes when the existing ones fail to meet business objectives. CIT) Motorola reported over 17 billion in savings in 2006 since the start of their Six Sigma initiative, and many other manufacturing companies have also achieved success with their own implementations of Six Sigma. (CIT) These tangible effects are the results of training in quality improvement methods, rearrangement of business processes to make them more efficient, initiation of projects that improve production or save money, and improved communication between management and employees.For a company to achieve Six Sigma any single process must not produce more than 3. 4 defects per million opportunities. (CIT) This in turn means increased profit for the company and potential bonuses or incentives for employees. We can also make comparisons between Six Sigma and the different Japanese methodologies and draw a number of conclusions†¦ Six Sigma addresses half of the revolutionary change required for Allentown Materials Corporation to remain competitive in the ever-changing manufacturing marketplace.The second component of the change required involves giving the entire organization a shared vision for the future which plays strongly on the core competencies of the Allentown Materials Corporation. The strength of Allentown Materials Corporation lies with its research and development, and manufacturing divisions. Part of this change will come about as Six Sigma is adapted and implemented at the Allentown Materials Corporation.Employees at all levels of the organization will recognize the potential benefits and rewards including increased job security, new opportunities with the comp any, and better performance evaluations and pay increases. Additionally, employees will be aware that if the company is deriving benefits from Six Sigma these benefits will eventually trickle down to them. (CIT) All of the new rewards and incentives will lend themselves to a shared vision within the company. One aspect of particular importance of the Six Sigma methodology will be the effect of training and teamwork on the various divisions.When a sense of teamwork is lacking the employees have a tendency to focus on the productivity of their particular department or division and fail to realize the impact of their actions on the entire operation. (CIT) For these changes to take hold at Allentown Materials Corporation a vital member of upper management must assume the role as the change champion. Don Roger’s seems like the clear choice to take on this position due to his position with the company and the fact that he has an established history of involving people in issues wit h the company and consulting them on decisions.The change champion at Allentown will have a number of new responsibilities related to ensuring the success of Six Sigma and simultaneously being the driving force behind the entire business revolution. In order to show demonstrable commitment to the program and the new shared vision the champion will need to be heavily involved in the change process, ensuring that it moves swiftly and that the change is real and positive. Encouragement, motivation, involvement with projects, removing the barriers to project success, celebrating successes when they occur, and recognizing achievements are all ways the champion can demonstrate commitment.In the course of implementing change the change champion should consider naming a steering committee consisting of him or herself, key managers from all the functional areas including the newly separated sales and marketing functions, and a new position; training manager. The steering committee would serv e to enact the changes, but would also provide crucial feedback from lower managers and employees about the practical implications of their changes.Among the responsibilities of the steering committee would be developing a new team handbook that clearly states the policies and goals of the company and a training program emphasizing teamwork, team interaction skills, and The issues effecting Allentown Materials Corporation may very well lead to its ultimate demise. It is therefore essential for Allentown Materials Corporation to institute a fast and positive change to ensure its long term viability and retain its competitive advantages in the marketplace. Six Sigma when implemented properly by a committed change champion can usher in a new era for Allentown Materials Corporation.

Mary Wollstonecraft: Views on Feminism Essay

1) Mary moved around a lot during her childhood, had no real friends and her father was an abusive husband. 2) Meets a girl named Fanny, similar to Mary’s situation except she was educated, teaches Mary to self-educate. 3) Mary has a public affair and says that women shouldn’t get married anymore until the law change (one flesh doctrine) 4) Writes a short book named â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Women† Rewrite as a short paragraph/a few clear sentences. Mary Wollstonecraft grew up with an abusive father and moved a great deal during childhood, causing her to not being able to make any real friends and was deprived of family love. Later on, she meets a girl named Fanny, who led a similar life excluding the fact that Fanny had an education and teaches Mary to self-educate. Soon afterwards, Mary becomes a writer and is able to support herself; she becomes fascinated by the ideas of the enlightenment and writes a short book named â€Å"Vindication of the Rights of Women†. It would’ve been a success if it weren’t for her scandalous love affair with a married man, which led her to declare that marriage should be invalid until the law changed and the one flesh doctrine was removed. Sub-arguments 1) Restate the 1st sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that marriage was parallel to legalized prostitution. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"Business of various kinds, they might likewise pursue, if they were educated in a more orderly manner, which might save many from common and legal prostitution. Women would not then marry for a support, as men accept of places under government, and neglect the implied duties; nor would an attempt to earn their own subsistence, a most laudable one! Sink them almost to the level of those poor abandoned creatures who live by prostitution.† (Wollstonecraft, â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,† 222) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft argued what may well be her most famous line, â€Å"To marry for support is legal prostitution.† She contended for intellectual companionship and friendship to be the ideal of marriage. She argued for an end to social prejudice against women which would, in turn, lead to women’s being defined by their character and work rather than by their marriages and social status. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 79) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. Although marriage appears to be sacred, women in society would be deemed to be prostitutes somewhere along the continuum; it was merely a question of degree as to how much a woman sold herself to one man, and how much she relied on him for support. Marriage can be viewed as really just a form of prostitution in which women received poor recompense for their work, are more vulnerable to violence (from their husbands), and had less control over their daily lives than professional sex workers. (Wollstonecraft, â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,† 222) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Wollstonecraft points out that in her society, marriage alone brings women prestige and power. The only way women can rise in the world is by marriage. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 81) 2) Restate the 2nd sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women were capable of being equal to men, if given the proper education. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"If women were more broadly educated, they would be better placed to carry out their educative duties as parents and to cooperate with men in this role. Part of Wollstonecraft’s defense of female emancipation, therefore, consists of arguing that freedom, equality, and education would make women better mothers.† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft stated that the boundaries on women’s education greatly affected their maturation. She noted that aristocratic women were not in fact confined to any particular â€Å"sphere† but traveled freely in public, going from place to place in order to better â€Å"display their finery.† Such a fine lady was useless to society not because of where she went or what she did, but because she never matured. â€Å"If she has any maternal tenderness, it is of a childish kind,† Wollstonecraft wrote. â€Å"Though she lives many years she is still a child in understanding, and of so little use to society, that her death would scarcely be observed.† With this grim assessment, Wollstonecraft concluded her argument that female education could best be improved by training young girls to become independent adults. Only then could they develop virtue in themselves and command the influence necessary to inspire others. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 203-204) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. Women are seen as inferior to men and held in a state of ignorance. Women are not educated nor are they allowed to think for themselves. Without the ability to reason, women cannot achieve virtue or morality and society as a whole suffers. If women were allowed to reason and think independently, both women and men alike would share the benefits. Wollstonecraft’s central goal was for young girls to grow into independent women, she challenged artificial barriers to female maturity in numerous spheres simultaneously: in families, where the laws of marriage required wives to obey husbands; in education, where girls received inferior training to boys; in religious institutions, where male clerics demanded female obedience; in market relations, where employers paid women too little to support themselves; in the state, where men denied women independent political standing; and in civil society, where men discounted women’s opinions. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 201) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Wollstonecraft argues that â€Å"boys and girls, the rich and the poor† should all be taught â€Å"the elements of religion, history, the history of man, and politics† in common—using â€Å"conversations, in the socratic form†. (Field, â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† 211). Wollstonecraft concedes that if women had a proper education and could develop their reason and attain independence, they might not marry at all, but could still live happy, fulfilled lives. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) 3) Restate the 3rd sub-argument from the thesis as a clear, well-written topic sentence. Mary Wollstonecraft claimed that friendship and companionship is vital to a marriage and is the key to raising a healthy family. List 1 quote from your sources which proves this sub-argument. â€Å"If women marry for friendship, coquetry and flirtation would not become a way of life. Not compelled to seek male approval and adoration, they could become dedicated wives and mothers.† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) Paraphrase one piece of information from your sources which proves this sub-argument. Wollstonecraft’s arguments about making women better wives and better mothers are mutually reinforcing, for she believes that if men and women marry by choice and for companionship, the husband is more likely to be at home and to be a better father to his children. (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 83) List 1 point of your opinion, supported by one of your sources which proves this sub-argument. A marriage that consisted of friendship and satisfaction would liberate its partners from petty jealousies and allow them to channel their energies outward to the fulfillment of their duties as wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers. Although such a relationship might not offer romantic love’s grand passion and high excitement, the type of care it offers is precious: Wollstonecraft claims that when the passion of romance subsides into friendship there develops a â€Å"tender intimacy, which is the best refuge from care; yet is built on such pure, still affections† (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) List one additional point: your choice of evidence style (may be a quote, paraphrase, statistic, or your opinion, but must be backed up by a source). Thus young people contemplating marriage should â€Å"look beyond the present moment, and try to render the whole of life respectable, by forming a plan to regulate friendship which only death ought to dissolve†. A freer, more rational approach to marriage would produce stronger marriages because the people in them would be partners, indeed friends, who would value one another for their virtues of character rather than their physical beauty, status, wealth, or femininity or masculinity. † (Abbey, â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† 84) Conclusion Write one sentence to remind the reader of your central argument. Mary Wollstonecraft strongly argued that marriage was parallel to legalized prostitution, that education was essential to a happy and moral life, and that friendship is a crucial aspect to a healthy marriage. Write one-three sentences to focus the reader’s attention on the most important evidence(s) you have offered. Mary Wollstonecraft argued that by marrying for financial support and social status, women are fundamentally committing prostitution. Moreover, she states that education is essential for women to live free and moral lives, for they will be able to learn to think for themselves and become rational thinkers. Lastly, friendship and companionship is vital in a marriage, it is only then will a marriage be successful. Bibliography/Works Cited (Wollstonecraft, Mary. â€Å"Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society.† A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews ,Boston, 1792. 222.) (Abbey, Ruth. â€Å"Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft,† Hypatia. 1999. Volume 14, Issue 3. 78-95) (Field, Corinne. â€Å"Made Women of When They are Mere Children,† The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. Spring 2011. Volume 4. Issue 2. 197-198) (Ford, Thomas H. â€Å"Mary Wollstonecraft and the Motherhood of Feminism†, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly. Fall/Winter 2009. Volume 37. Issues 3 & 4, 189-204)